Abstract

Background: COVID-19 has a significant impact on lives worldwide. Owing to the adverse effect of this pandemic, there has been a major shift from in-person learning activities to virtual learning. Different methods of virtual learning or e-learning, such as online classes and webinars, have emerged rapidly.

Objective: The aim of this study is to identify the perceptions of healthcare professionals regarding e-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Method: An online survey was conducted using Microsoft Forms sent via a text link to mobile phones and emails to healthcare professionals. The questionnaire had multiple-choice questions and five-point scaling to determine perceptions about virtual learning. Data in the form of responses were collected, analyzed, and summarized as mean ± standard deviation and percentage.

Results: Responses were received from a total of 410 participants, out of which 240 (58.54%) were females, and 170 (41.46%) were males. Among all participants, 294 (71.71%) were doctors. A vast majority of participants (90%) attended online webinar/e-conferences since the pandemic. The mobile phone was the most commonly used device for e-learning. More than half of the participants opined that in-person meetings are more effective than virtual meetings. In terms of medical learning, 40.48% of participants believed that virtual conferences are more convenient compared to conventional in-person attendance. According to 42.2% of participants, lack of personal interaction in virtual meetings affected their ability to acquire knowledge and experience.

Conclusion: Our survey demonstrated the acceptance of virtual learning by healthcare professionals as a new learning method. The majority of participants seem willing to adapt to this new medium.

Keywords: COVID-19, E-learning, Digital education, Virtual learning, Perceptions of e-learning, Webinars.