Impact of Covid-19 on Medical Students around the Globe

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused an unexpected disturbance in healthcare systems as well as medical education worldwide. This article aims to provide an overview of the circumstances experienced by medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic. As this disease can cause life-threatening conditions, it has presented challenges to medical educators and students as they must adapt to changes in their medical education to ensure lectures are given safely as well as effectively. Many medical students feel the sudden change in their education system impacted their training negatively; 74% of students surveyed by members of McGill University reported a decrease in the quality of their education since the start of COVID-19. As well as a negative impact on medical education, this pandemic has caused unprecedented psychological stress on numerous people around the world, especially individuals in the medical field. 48% of medical students at a Canadian university reported feeling more depressed since the onset of COVID-19. The sudden changes, isolation, and worries about health have impacted students’ mental health drastically. On the other hand, some students have reported that this pandemic has made a positive impact on their mental health as they had more time to focus on their mental well-being and they felt an overall reduction in pressure and stress. As COVID-19 remains to impact individuals worldwide, effective strategies towards improving mental health and quality of education should be provided to medical students affected by the challenges of this pandemic.