Rocío Santibáñez Vásquez: Virtual Doctors | Columnists | Opinion

April 13, 2021 – 00h05

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At the rate we are going – because of the pandemic, its biosecurity measures and social distancing – it is very likely that in a few years we will have a generation of new doctors whose last years of study will be carried out virtually. For those of us who practice the profession, such as doctors and teachers, this is a really worrisome issue that must be considered very seriously.

The last three years, of the six that the Medicine career currently lasts in our universities, contain eminently practical subjects. The theory of the early years is complemented by the practice of the later years. Online education cannot supplant the tour of hospital beds, learning from each clinical case that a patient represents. The teacher-student exchange, when discussing a problem case, when examining the patient, when raising possible diagnoses, when reviewing tests and, finally, when deciding the treatment to follow, are irreplaceable. We have been with online education for a year now and the experiences have been diverse. I will share mine with you. If keeping the attention of more than 30 students in a face-to-face classroom for 90 minutes is already a feat, you can imagine what a class taught through a virtual platform is like where it is not possible to see all the students at the same time, where many of them have connection problems and where most keep their cameras turned off for different reasons. A large number of students receive classes from their place of residence, which is not always the city where the university campus is located. Depending on where they live, the efficiency of the internet connection varies and that affects the use of the class they listen to. In addition, by not having the cameras turned on, it is impossible to control who is actually present or actually attending. Learning through online education requires a lot of motivation, time organization, dedication discipline and a lot of responsibility, more from the student than from the teacher. In the case of evaluations, depending on the platform used, there is no guarantee of who is and who is not honestly taking their exam. Students can divide the computer screen and search for information, they can receive messages by cell phone while they are taking the test, they can consult the sources they have.

For this reason, in addition to other essential reasons, it is urgent to accelerate the vaccination process against SARS-CoV2, in order to be able to resume face-to-face education in the necessary subjects. Online education has many advantages and is likely to be partially sustained; but the Medicine career needs its practical component. Otherwise, before long we will have newly graduated doctors who do not know how to use a stethoscope, who have never felt an abdomen or examined a patient’s reflexes. That, in terms of health, is serious.

The new president will be tasked with improving medical education by reopening university graduate programs. (OR)

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