Medical Education Online: Worries and Hopes
Abstract
Author(s): Ridwan A Olawale*
This review is aimed at identifying and synthesizing existing literature relating to the worries and hopes for the development and implementation of online learning in medical education, between 2006 and 2022, reiterating the positive impacts of mobile apps in medical education. The review emphasizes: Evaluating existing literature relating to the impacts of mobile apps in medical education and identifying the worries and hopes that restrict and aid e-learning from medical educators, students, and stakeholders' perspectives, respectively. Reviews available did mention how mobile devices are bridging gaps, beating the preconceived notions that computer-based tools always take longer than expected. Despite that mentioned, this review further reiterates the positive aspects of mobile apps to E-learning as Accessible 24/7, saving time, and cost-effective. Students considered mobile technology to be useful for educational purposes, so by eliminating the barriers in this field, it is possible to promote mobile learning for medical and nursing students. Moreover, due to the everchanging nature of e-learning and the skills needed for e-learning, staff, and students alike requires skills updates; otherwise, a downward trend is imminent. This review sub-questions are in tandem with the available articles’ themes in terms and principle and go further as a gap filler by addressing the ‘Geographical Inequalities’ (as synonymous to internet access difficulties) as a major barrier to medical education online; Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) in general tend to face greater health challenges, largely due to their decreased resources in comparison to Higher-Income Countries (HIC). Sub-Saharan Africa in comparison to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Southeast Asia within the so-called LMICs, experiences the highest disease burdens, as a result of many factors among which health education is of considerable importance. Doing goodness to online healthcare learnings, in general, will expand the health workforce's capacity to deal with disease burdens across all geographical demarcations. Results: Findings suggest that the main worries affecting the development and implementation of medical education online include geographical inequalities, negative attitudes, and lack of technical know-how. Hopes for the identified barriers lie in policy adjustment, incentives, and skill(s) updates. Conclusion: Results can be used to inform policymakers, stakeholders, and educational institutions.
