Table 5.
Mean Attitude Scores for Attitudes of Medical Students Towards Internal Medicine Rotation Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic
| Experiences | N | Overall Mean (SD) | Third Year Mean (SD) | Fifth Year Mean (SD) | Mann–Whitney p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The time allocated for the rotation was adequate. | 186 | 3.3 (1.2) | 2.7 (1.1) | 4.0 (1.0) | <0.0001 |
| I had adequate personal protective equipment during the rotation | 187 | 3.1 (1.1) | 3.0 (1.1) | 3.3 (1.1) | 0.102 |
| I was able to complete all my study objectives during the rotation. | 184 | 3.3 (1.0) | 3.1 (1.0) | 3.6 (1.0) | <0.001 |
| I found it easy to observe COVID-19 SOPs during clinical sessions. | 180 | 3.0 (1.1) | 2.9 (1.1) | 3.1 (1.2) | 0.344 |
| I was able to attend all bedside teachings organized in my ward. | 185 | 4.0 (1.1) | 3.9 (1.2) | 4.2 (1.0) | 0.185 |
| I was able to attend online sessions organized by the lecturers. | 182 | 3.7 (1.2) | 3.6 (1.2) | 3.9 (1.1) | 0.072 |
| I was able to interact with the seniors effectively during my rotation. | 186 | 3.7 (1.0) | 3.7 (1.1) | 3.8 (1.0) | 0.570 |
| The patients were cooperative during my clerkship. | 186 | 4.1 (0.8) | 4.1 (0.7) | 4.0 (0.9) | 0.812 |
| It was difficult to observe COVID-19 SOPs while clerking patients appropriately (R). | 187 | 3.7 (1.1) | 3.6 (1.2) | 3.8 (1.0) | 0.192 |
| I felt at risk of contracting COVID-19 during the rotation (R). | 186 | 4.1 (1.0) | 4.0 (1.0) | 4.2 (0.9) | 0.302 |
| I was discouraged from pursuing a career in Internal Medicine during my rotation (R). | 185 | 2.0 (1.1) | 1.9 (0.9) | 2.2 (1.3) | 0.445 |
| I have the opportunity to learn from my senior or junior counterparts. | 187 | 4.3 (0.8) | 4.4 (0.8) | 4.2 (0.8) | 0.140 |
| I feel safe around my senior or junior counterparts. | 187 | 4.3 (0.8) | 4.3 (0.8) | 4.3 (0.8) | 0.882 |
| I can comfortably share patients with my senior or junior counterparts. | 185 | 4.3 (0.9) | 4.3 (0.9) | 4.3 (0.8) | 0.800 |
| Teachers attend more to the junior clerks than the senior clerks (R). | 184 | 2.6 (1.1) | 2.6 (1.1) | 2.6 (1.1) | 0.638 |
| Patients are always enough for all the students to clerk. | 183 | 3.8 (1.2) | 3.8 (1.2) | 3.7 (1.1) | 0.533 |
| Learning is difficult when senior and junior clerks are combined together (R). | 187 | 2.8 (1.3) | 2.5 (1.3) | 3.0 (1.4) | 0.013 |
| Assessment is difficult when senior and junior clerks are combined together (R). | 187 | 3.2 (1.3) | 3.2 (1.3) | 3.3 (1.3) | 0.716 |
Notes: Mean attitude scores range from 1 to 5 with 1 indicating strongly disagree, hence negative attitudes and 5 indicating strongly agree, hence positive attitudes. For reversed statements (R), the higher mean attitude scores, the more negative the attitudes and vice versa.