How to teach pharmacology to medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the introduction of many changes into medical student education. The aim of the study was to evaluate medical students’ perceptions of a Pharmacology course delivered at a Polish medical university before and during the pandemic. 

Materials and methods: A cross-sectional anonymous survey conducted among medical students. 

Results: 90 out 122 students participated in the study. The vast majority of students found pharmacology to be a difficult subject. The surveyed group of students preferred active methods of learning, including: teacher explanations (86.5%) and discussions (70.8%) during in-person classes, real-time student-teacher meetings via dedicated web-based platforms (73%) during online classes. Students most often described e-learning as interesting (58.9%) and timesaving (52.2%). Less than 30% described it as stressful, difficult, time-consuming and boring. The most commonly reported advantage was the possibility for students to adjust their pharmacology study-time to a more personalised schedule (82.5%). The main disadvantage included the loss of in-person face-to-face contact with the teacher (61.8%).

Conclusions: Overall, students held positive attitudes towards the new teaching format and adapted well to the new conditions. Modern innovations enabling medical students to continue their studies efficiently and effectively during the pandemic must be developed and introduced into practice.