South African medical students’ perspectives on COVID-19 and clinical training

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted clinical training programmes for medical students globally. Continuation of clinical training is important but should be weighed against the risk of transmission of COVID- 19 infection from students to susceptible peers, healthcare workers (HCWs) and patients. Furthermore, teaching of medical students may place an additional burden on busy clinicians during the pandemic and increase utilisation of personal protective equipment (PPE).(2–5) All South African universities, including medical faculties, were forced to close when a national lockdown was implemented in March 2020. The Stellenbosch University Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (SU-FMHS) implemented a phased return to clinical training for senior students in May 2020 to ensure timely graduation; all other medical students continued the academic year via online learning. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of SU-FMHS Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) students’ attitudes to and perceptions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and clinical training.