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Assessment of the Medical Students Preparedness and Willingness for Integration into a War-torn Healthcare System: The example of COVID-19 Pandemic Scenario
Rahim Abo Kasem
Damascus University Faculty of Medicine
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9635-7471
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This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Background: The question about the role of the senior medical students in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic was raised after the serious shortage in healthcare workers faced by many healthcare systems. This research aimed to explore the ability of the final-year medical students to assist during COVID-19 in a war-torn health system.
Methods: Final-year medical students in Syrian Universities were approached between 9th-17th April 2020 through an online questionnaire that assessed the students’ COVID-19-related medical knowledge (5-point score), clinical judgment (5-point score), preparedness and willingness to integrate in the healthcare facilities. An overall score of 10 points was built and multivariate analysis was conducted.
Results: A total of 1764 responses were received. Valid responses were (1673) with 1199 (71.66%) responses from the final-year students. Of the latter, 728 (60.71%) scored 4 points or higher in the medical knowledge score (mean 3.69 points [SD 0.96]), while 298 (24.85%) scored 4 or higher in the clinical judgment score. Final-year students scored significantly higher than the fourth-year students in the clinical judgment score (mean 2.69 points [SD 1.12] vs 2.47 [1.15]; adjusted P=0.012). Nearly 72.4% of the final-year participants had an overall score of 7 points or more out of 10 (mean 6.39 points [SD 1.57]). Having fears of infection (log OR 0.24, 95% CI 0.05– 0.44; P=0.01) correlated with a higher overall score, contritely to beginner, intermediate English level, and male gender (log OR -0.68 [95% CI -1.01– -0.35]; P<0.001, -0.3 [-0.5 – -0.1]; P= 0.003, -0.25 [-0.43 – -0.08]; P=0.004, respectively). Finally, 682 (56.88%) of the final-year students expressed willingness to volunteer with healthcare teams.
Conclusion: Integrating final-year medical students may be an alternative in case of pandemics especially for fragile systems or those hit by a long-lasting war, while taking into consideration fulfilling personal protective measures, intensive training, and/or adequate supervision.
Keywords
COVID-19, Undergraduates, Preparedness, Health Systems, Integration
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⮚ Questionnaire’s sections ⮚ Figure S1. Summary of the answers to the COVID-19 medical knowledge questions among the fourth-, fifth- and sixth-year medical students. ⮚ Figure S2. Summary of the COVID-19 Medical Knowledge Score (max=5 points) among the fourth-, fifth- and sixth-year medical students. ⮚ Figure S3. Summary of the answers to the COVID-19 clinical judgment cases among the fourth-, fifth- and sixth-year medical students. ⮚ Figure S4. Summary of the COVID-19 Clinical Judgment Score (max=5 points) among the fourth-, fifth- and sixth-year medical students. ⮚ Figure S5. Comparison between the results of the Overall Score (max=10 points) of the final-year participants according to the participants' university. ⮚ Table S1. Correlation between the Medical Knowledge Score and each of the university and English level of the final (sixth)-year participants. ⮚ Table S2. Correlation between the Clinical Judgment Score and each of year of the study between the sixth and fourth-year students, the university and English level of the final (sixth)-year participants. ⮚ Table S3. Correlation between the overall score and each of the university and English level of the final (sixth)-year participants. ⮚ Table S4. Sixth-year participants’ answers regarding their willingness to volunteer, fear of being infected, ability to manage airways and do mechanical ventilation, need for supervision, knowledge of the preventive measures and having previous clinical training. ⮚ Table S5. Summary of the correlation between the studied variables of the preparedness and willingness of the final-year medical students to be integrated into healthcare systems (year of the study, willingness to volunteer, fear of being infected, ability to manage airways and do mechanical ventilation, need for supervision, and knowledge of the preventive measures)
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This preprint is under consideration at Conflict and Health. A preprint is a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
Learn more about In Review
Research
Assessment of the Medical Students Preparedness and Willingness for Integration into a War-torn Healthcare System: The example of COVID-19 Pandemic Scenario
Rahim Abo Kasem
Damascus University Faculty of Medicine
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9635-7471
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
Peer Review Timeline
CURRENT STATUS: Under Review
Version 1
Posted 18 Dec, 2020
No community comments so far
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 16 Dec, 2020
Editor assigned
On 15 Dec, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 15 Dec, 2020
Editor invited
On 15 Dec, 2020
First submitted
On 13 Dec, 2020
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Background: The question about the role of the senior medical students in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic was raised after the serious shortage in healthcare workers faced by many healthcare systems. This research aimed to explore the ability of the final-year medical students to assist during COVID-19 in a war-torn health system.
Methods: Final-year medical students in Syrian Universities were approached between 9th-17th April 2020 through an online questionnaire that assessed the students’ COVID-19-related medical knowledge (5-point score), clinical judgment (5-point score), preparedness and willingness to integrate in the healthcare facilities. An overall score of 10 points was built and multivariate analysis was conducted.
Results: A total of 1764 responses were received. Valid responses were (1673) with 1199 (71.66%) responses from the final-year students. Of the latter, 728 (60.71%) scored 4 points or higher in the medical knowledge score (mean 3.69 points [SD 0.96]), while 298 (24.85%) scored 4 or higher in the clinical judgment score. Final-year students scored significantly higher than the fourth-year students in the clinical judgment score (mean 2.69 points [SD 1.12] vs 2.47 [1.15]; adjusted P=0.012). Nearly 72.4% of the final-year participants had an overall score of 7 points or more out of 10 (mean 6.39 points [SD 1.57]). Having fears of infection (log OR 0.24, 95% CI 0.05– 0.44; P=0.01) correlated with a higher overall score, contritely to beginner, intermediate English level, and male gender (log OR -0.68 [95% CI -1.01– -0.35]; P<0.001, -0.3 [-0.5 – -0.1]; P= 0.003, -0.25 [-0.43 – -0.08]; P=0.004, respectively). Finally, 682 (56.88%) of the final-year students expressed willingness to volunteer with healthcare teams.
Conclusion: Integrating final-year medical students may be an alternative in case of pandemics especially for fragile systems or those hit by a long-lasting war, while taking into consideration fulfilling personal protective measures, intensive training, and/or adequate supervision.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3