Abstract

This study focused on student perspectives on medical education pre- and post- COVID-19 with the goal of determining whether those perspectives changed while simultaneously identifying factors that contribute to these potential changes.  Based on the analyses conducted, it was determined that, not only did student perspectives improve, but that classroom engagement and technology were both significant – in a correlative manner – contributing factors of satisfaction for online medical school education post- COVID-19. Thus, it does seem that an online pre-clinical education has the potential to be the new standard as it remains unclear when students and faculty will be able to return to the classroom comfortably. However, the ability to deliver a high-quality education that students are satisfied with is crucial and depends on a school’s ability to create an engaging online classroom that is easy to navigate. Future studies should expand this survey to students at other medical schools who were in their pre-clinical years and also experienced a transition to an online medical education as a result of COVID-19. The scope of the study should also be expanded to include undergraduate and/or graduate programs that experienced a similar transition. Lastly, future studies could also measure faculty perspectives on if or how education quality changed as a result of moving online.