CONVENTIONAL V/S ONLINE TEACHING DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: PERCEPTION OF UNDERGRADUATE MEDICAL STUDENTS OF INDIA

Background: During COVID-19 Pandemic, conventional campus teaching was withheld in medical colleges throughout India for maintaining physical-distancing as a preventive measure to curb the spread of the SARS CoV-2 virus. Online teaching was started as a breakthrough in many medical colleges. We aimed to know the advantages and shortcomings of conventional and online teaching in undergraduate medical students of India, problems faced during online teaching and most preferred platform. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out from March - July 2020 in UG medical students who were attending online teaching, via a Google Form. Total 700 students from 35 Medical colleges across India participated in the study. Result: Out of 700 UG medical students 47% were likely to attend online classes while 53% chose conventional classes.72.4% students missed social interaction with friends and teachers in current online teaching.61.3% students experienced increased incidence of eye strain, eye redness, headache and fatigue due to online teaching.79.7% students agreedthat practicals are more convenient and informative when taken conventionally.45% students agreedthat teachers were incompatible with online teaching systems and needed training.Maximum students faced problems of unstable network, high data consumption and high expenditures on mobile data due to online teaching.For online teaching 324 students preferred Cisco Webex, 123 ZOOM, 96 YouTube, 81 Google. Conclusion: A blended teaching method is convenient for students.Further research is required.