Perception of Second Professional MBBS students towards online teaching during COVID Pandemic: A cross sectional study of a Medical College in central India

Background: COVID-۱۹ Pandemic has changed the face of medical education globally. The implementation of infection control policies mandated shut down of medical colleges globally. This led to sudden shift towards online teaching platforms to ensure the continuity of learning. Therefore, this study was planned to assess the impact of online teaching from student’s perspective. Method: This is a cross sectional study conducted in an Indian medical college from March to August ۲۰۲۱ on ۱۵۰ students of II Professional MBBS ۲۰۱۸ batch who were willing to give informed consent. The students were surveyed using google forms. The questionnaire comprised of closed ended questions based on student’s perception towards various aspects of online teaching related to theory classes of II professional’s subjects only. Total ۹۸ responses were obtained and data was analysed with the help of descriptive statistics.Results: Overall ۸۳.۵% students preferred offline/regular classes over online mode. The drawbacks of online classes lied in being non interactive (۶۵.۳%), monotonous (۱۳.۲%), boring (۱۰.۲) and difficult to understand (۱۰.۲%).The major advantages perceived were no risk of COVID exposure (۵۷.۱%). ۶۳% of students liked uploaded over live lectures. Students found Pharmacology (۴۲.۸%)  classes to be most useful and  Microbiology to be least useful(۳۸.۷%). ۷۰% of students experienced pandemic related stress due to problems regarding online lectures(۴۲.۶%)while ۳۰% were happy due to no risk of COVID exposure(۵۰%).Conclusion: Overall the students reported negative impact of online teaching during COVID-۱۹ pandemic. The only advantage perceived was safety from COVID exposure. So, there is need of pandemic preparedness for continued medical education.