Effect of Virtual Training of Basic Clinical Skills on the Performance of Midwifery Students in the Era of Covid-19

The training of practical skills and the need to learn them is one of the characteristics of training in medical sciences, which is carried out in the clinical skills center. However, due to the spread of the Coronavirus, face-to-face training has been transferred to virtual training and the clinical skills training program for clinical learners has faced serious challenges. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effect of virtual training of basic clinical skills on the performance of midwifery students during the Covid-19 pandemic.

This semi-experimental study was conducted on first semester midwifery students of Bojnurd University of Medical Sciences who entered the university in 2019 (virtual education, N=25) and in 2020 (traditional education, N=25). Students participated in the study by census method. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire and a practical test and analyzed using SPSS 24 software and independent t-test, chi-square and Mann-Whitney U.

The mean performance score in the virtual education group was 17.54±1.27 and in the traditional education group was 18.38±1.13, and there was no statistically significant difference between them (p>0.05).

Both traditional education and virtual education can be effective in students' learning, but traditional education in the clinical environment, especially for practical courses and clinical skills, can be somewhat more effective than virtual education alone.