Perceptions About E-Learning Among Undergraduate Medical Students: A Cross Sectional Study.

Abstract

Background: Experiences from the pandemic times have shown that blending online learning in medical education provides a better academic environment. Hence, the current study aims to find the perceptions of medical students on online learning. Materials and methods: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 848 undergraduate medical students on perceptions, barriers, enabling environment and assessment methods in e-learning.  Ethical clearance was obtained from the institutional ethical committee. The student's response from the generated google sheet was analyzed using SPSS version 23.0. Top of FormResults: The analysis was done on 841 responses of which 273(32.5%) were from government colleges. Private college students and Phase IV students faced more problems with data exhaustion due to online classes than their counterparts. The government college students and phase IV students significantly felt that classes were more monotonous. Conclusion: The study concludes that when students put in a little more effort, the e-learning mode can be made beneficial. But the longer duration of e-learning was shown to be related to health effects like eye strain and musculoskeletal pain. Thus, to bring about a better learning environment e-learning can be integrated into the MBBS curriculum as a supplement to bedside and small group learning.