COVID-19: Impact, Concerns and Mental Health of Medical Students of CMH LMC

ABSTRACT Objective: The current study aimed to assess the concerns of the medical students regarding their studies and clinical rotations during this pandemic. Additionally, this study also explores the impact of this novel COVID-19 on different domains of medical student’s life and on their mental well-being. Methodology: We conducted cross-sectional survey. Questions focusing on concerns and impact of COVID-19 were included. Depression, Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) was used to assess the mental wellbeing. Results: The results of current survey revealed that 49.6 % medical students of their final years suffered from the mild to extremely severe range of anxiety, 39.6 % from depression and 16.8 % suffered from the stress. Findings also highlight that mostly travelling, studies and social life were affected. As observed that mostly, students highlight their concerns about availability of Personal Preventive Equipment (PPE) and about taking of preventive measures by patients. Almost 81.4 % agreed that e learning is not the alternative for classroom face-to-face lectures. It is also observed that 60.5 % showed satisfaction about teacher’s adaptation to the e learning and 57.3 % highlight the competency of teachers about giving proper feedback and asking questions during online classes. Conclusion: This survey exposed students concerns due to this pandemic on their studies and clinical rotations in the clinical settings. Additionally revealed about the huge impact of Covid-19 on mental health and daily functioning of medical students in different aspects of life. Keywords: COVID-19, mental health, medical and dental students