The Role of Medical Students During COVID-19 Era. A Review

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE WORK: Since December 2019, the world has been facing the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Medical students could not remain uninvolved. Our aim is to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on their mental health, and to evaluate their awareness and aptitude for contributing to the fight against COVID-19. METHODS: An in-depth search of the literature was performed in Pubmed database, for studies investigating the preferred source of information about COVID-19, the knowledge on virus transmission, COVID-19 clinical symptoms and preventive measures against its spread, and the impact of COVID-19 on mental health among medical students. Their potential roles during the COVID-19 pandemic were also investigated. RESULTS: Twenty studies were included. The majority of medical students prefer social media to acquire knowledge about COVID-19. They are adequately informed about COVID-19 transmission and symptoms, as well as preventive measures against COVID-19, although wearing a face-mask is not so popular among them. Their mental health is affected, mainly expressed as a fear of infection. Possible alternative roles of students during pandemic may be providing information to the public and tracing contacts of infected people. CONCLUSIONS: Medical students have an adequate level of knowledge upon COVID-19 and implement proper strategies to prevent its spread. Further training is essential to improve some aspects in this field. Despite the negative impact of COVID-19 on their mental health, they could assist healthcare systems under appropriate precautions. (www.actabiomedica.it)