Perceptions of students confined by the COVID-19 pandemic on distance learning in medicine

Background: The suspension of face-to-face teaching activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic forced an abrupt transition to distance learning in Spanish universities. Aim: To know how medical students value distance learning in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. Material and Methods: Undergraduate medical students from first to fifth year in Barcelona (Spain) were invited to answer an anonymous online survey about their perceptions and level of satisfaction with virtual learning. Results: Of 483 students invited to the survey, 244 (50.5%) answered it. Respondents from the first and second year rated distance learning as acceptable (mean 3.1) on a Likert scale from 1 to 5. Those from third to fifth years rated distance learning as unsatisfactory (mean 2.7). The best evaluated aspects were synchronous lectures (3.9) and lectures based on cases (3.4). The worst evaluated issues were motivation (2.3), interaction with faculty (2.1), and additional workload (0.7). Conclusions: The perceptions expressed by these students reinforce the importance of facilitating communication, motivation and participation of students in distance learning in Medicine.