Comparison of Virtual and Actual Education Models on the Learning of Internal Interns during COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: Following the outbreak of coronavirus and its impact on the educational process of medical students, attention was paid to e-learning due to the importance of education and research. The aim of the present study is an evaluation of virtual and actual education models on the learning of internal interns during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The present study is a trial that was performed on 112 internal interns of hospitals from January to December 2020. Each participant was randomly assigned to one of the actual or virtual educational model groups with personal consent. Educational method was case-based discussion in both groups. The learning outcomes of the interns of these two groups were compared in 9 areas with 95% confidence level and 5% random error. Data about age, sex, type of residence (home or dormitory), pre-internship score (≤150 or >150) and entrance exam rank (≤300 or >300) were collected. Data were analyzed using SPSS Version 20. Results: The mean ±SD age of the participants was 24.9±2.3 years, 46% of participants were men and 54% of them lived in dormitories. The results of the study show that the difference in pre-test and post-test scores with actual and virtual education models in the male and female is significantly different (p-value=0.020). Virtual education for men and actual education for women have resulted in higher difference scores in pre-test and post-test. Actual and virtual education models were not different in academic achievements of the participants. Thus, the scores obtained in 9 areas did not make a significant difference between the two types of educational models. Conclusion: The comparison of virtual and actual education demonstrated that there is no significant difference between these two methods in student output. Given the conditions that have been created by COVID-19 in the world, it seems that the use of virtual education can be a good alternative to educating medical students so that education does not stop.