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

Elli Magklara; Stavros Angelis; Eirini Solia; Antonios Katsimantas; Georgia  Kourlaba; Georgios  Kostakis; Georgios Tsakotos; Theoklis Zaoutis; Dimitrios  Filippou

doi:10.23750/abm.v92i1.10873

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

Authors

Elli Magklara School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6556-2173
Stavros Angelis Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7226-3294
Eirini Solia School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9021-3824
Antonios Katsimantas Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4695-7724
Georgia Kourlaba Center for clinical epidemiology and outcomes research (CLEO), Athens, Greece https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1364-9488
Georgios Kostakis School of Dentistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8113-9183
Georgios Tsakotos Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8559-8969
Theoklis Zaoutis Center for clinical epidemiology and outcomes research (CLEO), Athens, Greece https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0127-6562
Dimitrios Filippou Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5410-3046

DOI: https://doi.org/10.23750/abm.v92i1.10873

Keywords:

COVID-19, medical students, mental health, preventive behavior

Abstract

Background and aim of the work: Since December 2019, the world has been facing the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic crisis. The rapid and effortless spread of the virus has led the World Health Organization to adopt unprecedented large-scale preventive measures. Our aim is to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of medical students, and to evaluate their awareness and aptitude for contributing to the fight against COVID-19 contagion.

Methods: PubMed electronic database was employed for the research using the following terms: "medical students and COVID-19", "mental health of medical students and COVID-19", "knowledge of medical students and COVID-19", "preventive behavior of medical students and COVID-19".

Results: Twenty-one articles were included; ten assess the knowledge of medical students on COVID-19, seven present whether they demonstrate appropriate preventive behavior according to global guidelines, seven examine the impact of the pandemic on their mental health, five examine their role on the side of trained healthcare workers. Some articles combine more than one of the above mentioned domains.

Conclusions: Medical students seem to demonstrate 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. Social media has proven to be the optimal source of information for medical students, which is incompatible with their future careers as doctors. The pandemic had a negative impact on medical students, expressed as fear regarding the virus spread; nevertheless, many have felt the need to assist healthcare systems under appropriate precautions.

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