Undergraduate Medical Science Students' Positive Attitude towards Online Classes during COVID-19 Pandemic in a Medical College: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: The outbreak of COVID-19 led to lockdown, which in turn led to the closure of schools and colleges. This situation created an opportunity to transform the conventional learning methods into an online or virtual method using various digital platforms. Nepalese Army Institute of Health Sciences started online classes as an alternative way to resume education during this pandemic. Therefore, this study aims to identify the prevalence of medical science students with a positive attitude towards online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic in a medical college of Kathmandu, Nepal.

Methods: The study was conducted among 513 students using descriptive cross-sectional study design who were currently studying Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, Proficiency Certificate Level Nursing, Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and Bachelor of Nursing Science under the Nepalese Army Institute of Health Sciences. Data was collected from June-July 2020 through an online self-administered questionnaire using Google forms. The results were presented through frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation.

Results: In this study, 112 (87.5%) Bachelor of Science in Nursing, 189 (83.6%) Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, and 63 (82.9%) Bachelor of Science in Nursing students had a positive attitude towards online classes, while 51 (61.5%) of Proficiency Certificate Level Nursing students had a negative attitude towards it.

Conclusions: Most bachelor-level students had a positive attitude towards online classes. With a
positive attitude, students’ participation and adaptability in online classes will be high, resulting in
better academic performance.