COVID-۱۹ Impact on Pathology Education Program in Iran

Background & Objective: The coronavirus disease brought worldwide uncertainty, and Iran was affected by it as well as many other countries in the world. Halting face-to-face education due to social distancing and resident re-employment in clinical wards leads to defective education. The aim of this survey was to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of modifications made in pathology residency education in Iran.Methods: This online survey was conducted on all pathology residents in Iran. An online ۳۰-item questionnaire was developed and used in this study.Results: Sixty residents (۸۸.۳% female) participated in this survey. The majority (۷۰%) of the residents were over ۳۰ years old. Fifty percent of the responders reported that their personal life was influenced by the pandemic. Skyroom and Adobe Connect were the most common platforms for online education with overall satisfaction of ۶۵%. The webinars were considered suitable by ۵۱.۷% of the responders. Concerns at work were reported by ۴۸.۳% of the residents, while ۷۸.۳% reported being exposed to the disease and ۵۵% reported being infected. Concerns about transmission of the disease to family members were reported by ۹۰% of the responders.Conclusion: This study showed that the pathology residency modifications were successful in providing education. However, their social and educational life characteristics might affect their satisfaction with online education.

Keywords:

COVID-۱۹ , Medical residents , Online education , pathology