Higher education for foreign students in Medical Academies during COVID-19 pandemic

Background: The pandemic of the new coronavirus COVID-19 has affected all aspects of modern society. The higher medical education is no exception here. The borders closure by many countries has created a situation where the education in another country became possible only in a virtual format. The way the quality of education was affected will become clear later. But the effectiveness of work in this area mainly depends on the acceptance or rejection of the new forms of education by students. A study conducted by the International Relations Office of Volgograd State Medical University in February-April 2021 was dedicated to the study of this issue.

Aim: Тo determine the projections the application of a blended format of teaching to medical students in the post-Covid period in order to optimize the development of educational programs and improve international cooperation in this area.

Methods: The field of study included a questionnaire developed in Google forms. The Processing of questionnaires is automated. Editing and coding of information, statistical analysis, comparative analysis, combinatorial analysis using the SPSS program have been carried out. The study was conducted at medical universities in 8 countries in different regions of the world. The article discusses research results in Russia. General population – 1835 international students for March, 1, 2021. N = 320. Confidence – 97 %.

Research hypothesis: The transition to online education during a pandemic allows students continue medical education with minimum interruption. In general, they adapt well in the digital environment, however, they consider its disadvantages as: the lack of direct guidance from teachers in the development of practical skills and the absence of personal contacts. In the future, the online training format can be considered as supplementary, but not the main one in the process of training of doctors.

Results: Practical recommendations have been developed for the development of international relations in higher medical education using blended teaching methods, both in regular and in emergency situations.

Conclusion: Comparing these data, we can conclude that studying in a foreign medical university is assessed by students higher than education in their own country, they value the acquired knowledge more and choose those forms of training that are most advantageous for their professional development.