Challenges and Strategies for Educating Medical Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review

During the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, medical student education faced many challenges as these students became involved in the treatment of disease. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to systematically review the challenges and strategies for medical student education during...

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Main Authors: Khalil Kalavani, Saber Azami-Aghdash, Zahra Zare, Elham Shami, Mahdiyeh Heydari
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Galenos Publishing House 2025-04-01
Series:Gazi Medical Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://gazimedj.com/articles/challenges-and-strategies-for-educating-medical-students-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-a-systematic-review/doi/gmj.2024.3797
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author Khalil Kalavani
Saber Azami-Aghdash
Zahra Zare
Elham Shami
Mahdiyeh Heydari
author_facet Khalil Kalavani
Saber Azami-Aghdash
Zahra Zare
Elham Shami
Mahdiyeh Heydari
author_sort Khalil Kalavani
collection DOAJ
description During the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, medical student education faced many challenges as these students became involved in the treatment of disease. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to systematically review the challenges and strategies for medical student education during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study is a systematic review. To find the necessary documents and collect the information, Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and Embase databases, websites for relevant journals, and search engines such as Google Scholar, were used from January 2019 to the end of 2022. The data were analyzed using content analysis and descriptive statistics. Of the 14,474 studies found, 82 documents were ultimately included. Most studies were conducted in the United States (18%), and the largest target population was U.S. residents (41%). A total of 228 challenges were identified and categorized into seven major themes (financial constraints and infrastructure development, international education, assessment and testing system, student health and preparation, professional ethics, faculty empowerment, and virtual education) and 14 subthemes. The most significant challenges were virtual education, student health, and financial and infrastructure constraints. Solutions were also categorized into five main areas: virtual education, infrastructure and physical environment, educational approach, faculty empowerment, and health, along with 23 subcategories. Identifying and analyzing the challenges presented in this study and the solutions offered could help policymakers and higher education managers make evidence-based decisions tailored to local conditions, and turn the COVID-19 crisis into an educational opportunity.
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spelling doaj-art-8e9caaef0ab34f04ac2d0158a70094692025-08-20T02:27:42ZengGalenos Publishing HouseGazi Medical Journal2147-20922025-04-0136222623510.12996/gmj.2024.3797Challenges and Strategies for Educating Medical Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic ReviewKhalil Kalavani0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7869-7931Saber Azami-Aghdash1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3923-2306Zahra Zare2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6778-8267Elham Shami3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2311-4874Mahdiyeh Heydari4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3850-5103Department of Public Health, Khoy University of Medical Sciences, Khoy, IranDepartment of Health Policy, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Tabriz, IranDepartment of Health Care Management, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Science, Shiraz, IranDepartment of Health Policy and Management, Iranian Center of Excellence in Health Management, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences School of Management and Medical Information, Tabriz, IranDepartment of Health Economics and Management, School of Public Health, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, IranDuring the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, medical student education faced many challenges as these students became involved in the treatment of disease. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to systematically review the challenges and strategies for medical student education during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study is a systematic review. To find the necessary documents and collect the information, Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and Embase databases, websites for relevant journals, and search engines such as Google Scholar, were used from January 2019 to the end of 2022. The data were analyzed using content analysis and descriptive statistics. Of the 14,474 studies found, 82 documents were ultimately included. Most studies were conducted in the United States (18%), and the largest target population was U.S. residents (41%). A total of 228 challenges were identified and categorized into seven major themes (financial constraints and infrastructure development, international education, assessment and testing system, student health and preparation, professional ethics, faculty empowerment, and virtual education) and 14 subthemes. The most significant challenges were virtual education, student health, and financial and infrastructure constraints. Solutions were also categorized into five main areas: virtual education, infrastructure and physical environment, educational approach, faculty empowerment, and health, along with 23 subcategories. Identifying and analyzing the challenges presented in this study and the solutions offered could help policymakers and higher education managers make evidence-based decisions tailored to local conditions, and turn the COVID-19 crisis into an educational opportunity.https://gazimedj.com/articles/challenges-and-strategies-for-educating-medical-students-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-a-systematic-review/doi/gmj.2024.3797covid-19educationstudentsmedical scienceschallengesolutions
spellingShingle Khalil Kalavani
Saber Azami-Aghdash
Zahra Zare
Elham Shami
Mahdiyeh Heydari
Challenges and Strategies for Educating Medical Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review
Gazi Medical Journal
covid-19
education
students
medical sciences
challenge
solutions
title Challenges and Strategies for Educating Medical Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review
title_full Challenges and Strategies for Educating Medical Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review
title_fullStr Challenges and Strategies for Educating Medical Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review
title_full_unstemmed Challenges and Strategies for Educating Medical Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review
title_short Challenges and Strategies for Educating Medical Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review
title_sort challenges and strategies for educating medical students during the covid 19 pandemic a systematic review
topic covid-19
education
students
medical sciences
challenge
solutions
url https://gazimedj.com/articles/challenges-and-strategies-for-educating-medical-students-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-a-systematic-review/doi/gmj.2024.3797
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