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Ardekani et al. BMC Medical Education (2021) 21:352
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-021-02791-9
RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access
Student support systems for undergraduate
medical students during the COVID-19
pandemic: a systematic narrative review of
the literature
Ali Ardekani1, Seyed Ali Hosseini1, Parinaz Tabari2, Zahra Rahimian1, Afrooz Feili1, Mitra Amini2* and Arash Mani3
Abstract
Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has boosted medical students’ vulnerability to
various problems. Given the stressful nature of medical disciplines, considerable attention must be paid to student
support systems during pandemics. This study aimed to review the current literature regarding medical student
support systems systematically.
Methods: We performed a systematic review of six databases and grey literature sources in addition to a hand
search in the references of the articles on April 5, 2021. We included all studies about support for undergraduate
medical students delivered in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In conducting this review, we used the
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement.
Results: A total of 3646 articles were retrieved from the databases, and 16 additional papers were extracted from
other sources. After removing duplicates, we screened 2434 titles and abstracts according to our criteria. Among
them, 32 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility. Ultimately, 10 studies were included for review. We identified
two major themes: (a) academic support and (b) mental health support. All of the included studies utilized online
methods whether for transitioning from previous support systems or developing novel approaches. Students and
faculty members seemed to be receptive to these new systems. Despite indicating outstanding program outcomes,
most studies merely described the positive effects of the program rather than providing a precise evaluation.
Conclusion: There are several methods of supporting medical students who are experiencing unprecedented
changes in their educational trajectory. Due to substantial differences in undergraduate medical education in
different regions of the world, cultural and contextual-oriented support is indispensable for developing a safe
learning environment. Future research should investigate the question of the extent to which online support can
supersede in-person strategies.
Keywords: Medical education, Mentors, Mentoring, COVID-19, Medical students
* Correspondence: mitraamini51@yahoo.com
2
Clinical Education Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences,
Shiraz, Iran
Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
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data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.Ardekani et al. BMC Medical Education (2021) 21:352 Page 2 of 11 Background conditions in medical schools given the high prevalence Following the outbreak of the severe acute respiratory of such disturbances among medical students [15]. Con- syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in China, and sidering the extra psychological burden that the current the rapid spread of its consequent disease called pandemic has put on medical students, student support COVID-19 worldwide, diverse social aspects of human systems’ employment seems more essential than ever be- life have been affected [1, 2]. As one of the most critical fore [16–19]. Lessons learned from previous pandemics facets of social life, education has encountered many regarding these systems can be considered when devis- challenges considering its interactive nature [3]. For in- ing the related programs [20]. Recently, increased atten- stance, medical education has faced plenty of issues due tion has been directed toward supporting medical to the need for students to communicate with patients students because, in these unprecedented times, they are and, on the other hand, the responsibility of faculty staff more vulnerable than ever before to a wide range of ad- to ensure the health of students, which is of paramount versities [21]. concern [4]. Students’ daily commute to teaching hospi- The publication of articles after the outbreak of tals leads to the spread of the virus. Accordingly, the COVID-19 is growing exponentially [22]. A number of cancellation of instructional programs and the use of vir- studies have introduced a diversity of new methods to tual teaching methods have been put on the agenda [5]. support and educate students. However, these methods Besides physical health concerns, the stressful nature of need to be comprehensively reviewed before being uti- the medical disciplines exerts a great deal of psycho- lized by medical schools in the unanticipated future. In logical and social stress on students during their study the present study, we intended to perform a comprehen- period [6]. Research has discovered that medical stu- sive systematic review of the ways of supporting under- dents are more likely than the rest of the population to graduate medical students during the COVID-19 suffer from mental illnesses, with a greater risk of de- pandemic. It is hoped that by completing this review, pression and suicidal ideas [7]. Notably, medical trainees the path of supporting students will be further paved. fighting the pandemic on the frontlines are under much psychological stress [8]. Aside from the previously men- Methods tioned issues, COVID-19-related challenges to formal In conducting this review, the Preferred Reporting Items methods of clinical teaching have raised the signs of ad- for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) verse mental well-being among medical students globally protocol was followed [23]. [9]. All of the mentioned problems highlight the import- ance of providing medical students with academic and Search strategy personal support, thereby facilitating their success dur- In June 2020, the initial search was done to investigate ing their training [10, 11]. The ultimate goal of student suitable keywords and reach relevant results. The first support systems is not merely to empower a student in round of search and screening was conducted at the end academic and clinical competencies but also to develop of July 2020. Given the rapid expansion of literature in all aspects of the student’s character as a whole [12]. the COVID-19 era, we decided to re-conduct the search One way for students to adapt to new situations is to in order to access the latest evidence available on the use a type of student support system called mentoring topic. The final search was done on April 5, 2021, using [13]. In a systematic review in 2018, Akinla et al. con- a more specific search strategy representing the cluded that near-peer mentoring programs for first-year “COVID-19 pandemic”, “medical education,” and “stu- medical students are among the most effective methods dent support”. Some other entry terms and synonyms of supporting them for professional and academic were utilized, along with the mentioned keywords. The achievement [13]. PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, and Of course, it should be noted that supporting students Cochrane Library databases were explored using word is not limited to mentoring and includes a wide range of clusters and proper Boolean operators (AND; OR). Each methods of support for student education, mental database was investigated with an appropriate search health, and even decision-making [12]. An integrated strategy (Supplementary file 1). To access the grey litera- model consisting of dedicated counseling sessions for ture, the first 100 results of Google Scholar were also in- medical students, wellness group activities, online cluded. Additionally, a hand search in the retrieved courses, and collaboration with student health services articles’ reference lists was performed. All citations were for referral (e.g., psychiatric counseling) is employed at imported into EndNote X9 software (Clarivate Analytics, Florida International University to reduce burnout and USA), and duplicates were removed. Then, we entered depression as byproducts of studying medicine [14]. One the citations into the Rayyan (available at https://www. study calls for developing stress management programs rayyan.ai), which is a free web app that facilitates the through training workshops to prevent mental health screening process for systematic reviews [24].
Ardekani et al. BMC Medical Education (2021) 21:352 Page 3 of 11
Study selection medical education (Fig. 1). After removing duplicates,
This study aimed to review any kind of student support 2434 titles and abstracts screened for the first time re-
employed by medical universities in response to the un- sulted in 32 relevant studies. The full texts of 32 articles
precedented changes that arose from the pandemic. Ti- were retrieved and examined. Finally, 10 articles were
tles and abstracts of all articles found were screened by found to be eligible. In terms of geographical distribu-
A.A. and Z.R. independently. In the absence of an ab- tion, three were from Germany, two from the United
stract, the full text of the study was used. The inclusion Kingdom (UK), two from Singapore, one from the
criteria were: studies that mentioned student support United States, one from Brazil, and one from Iran. A
system programs in any stage of undergraduate medical summary of the findings is presented in Table 1.
education; articles published after December 1st 2019;
and studies describing student support systems explicitly Critical appraisal
used in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The ex- We appraised all studies against the Buckley et al. [25]
clusion criteria were: opinion pieces and other studies checklist; however, none of the included studies met at
involving no actual changes; studies that described sup- least seven out of the 11 items of the checklist to be
port systems that were not used in response to the considered as high-quality studies. The low quality of
COVID-19 pandemic; and articles that did not discuss studies has been mentioned in a previous review in the
support systems in undergraduate medical education. context of medical education [36]. Most studies tend to
No exclusion occurred due to article language or coun- merely describe the educational intervention rather than
try of publication. After initial screening, relevant articles comprehensively evaluating its outcomes.
were reached in full text and investigated by A.A. and
P.T. independently for eligibility. In the process of Summary of the included articles
screening, all disagreements between authors were Although it is challenging to separate the described sup-
solved by discussion or group consensus with a third port strategies, the eligible studies can be categorized
party (M.A. or A.M.). into two major themes:
Data extraction a. Academic support to help medical students cope
All eligible studies were reviewed by A.F. and S.A.H. in- with new educational changes during the COVID-
dependently. Where there was a discrepancy between re- 19 pandemic.
viewers, the study was reviewed by the most expert b. Mental health support for students during the
author (M.A. or A.M.), and a consensus was reached COVID-19 pandemic.
through discussion. A Microsoft Excel (Microsoft, Red-
mond, WA, U.S.) spreadsheet was used for data collec- Academic support
tion. The data extracted included the author(s), the Three papers reported new adaptations to provide aca-
country of the project, the support system’s goal, the demic support to medical students. These articles
intervention, and the outcomes. attempted to identify current issues and ease the transi-
tion to new circumstances. In the study conducted by
Critical appraisal Huddart et al. [31], the outcomes of a one-hour national
A checklist containing 11 items introduced by Buckley Twitter-based discussion on the uncertainties, concerns,
et al. [25] in 2009 was utilized to appraise the studies and initiatives of UK medical students in relation to
(Supplementary 1). If a study met seven out of 11 criteria, COVID-19 were presented. Some of the students’ critical
it was considered as a high-quality study. Although all concerns included the fear of burnout, the necessity of
studies were appraised precisely, none were excluded due adequate supervision, and the need for personal protect-
to having low quality. P.T. and S.A.H. appraised the stud- ive equipment. Furthermore, students shared uncertainty
ies independently; whenever there was a dispute, M.A. or regarding whether they could obtain the required clinical
A.M. was consulted, and a consensus was reached. skills through online learning systems. The initiatives
discussed included clinical volunteering and non-clinical
Results volunteer work like awareness campaigns and commu-
Search results nity members’ assistance. In a Singapore-based study di-
On April 5, 2021, the final database search yielded 3662 rected by Lee et al. [32], a coaching program was
articles, consisting of 441 citations in PubMed, 513 in devised using the master adaptive learning framework to
Embase, 459 in Scopus, 183 in WOS, 9 in the Cochrane build on medical students’ abilities and provide them
Library, 1941 in ERIC, and 100 in Google Scholar. Also, with much-needed support during the COVID-19 pan-
16 additional studies were included by a hand search in demic. The program involved both academic coaches,
the references and relevant journals in the field of who tracked and analyzed the medical students’Ardekani et al. BMC Medical Education (2021) 21:352 Page 4 of 11 Fig. 1 PRISMA flow-diagram for systematic reviews performance while also examining their methods of a leader for representation and coordination in the stu- studying and learning through regular 30-min discus- dent network system. In this network, the plans for sions, and faculty staff, who addressed the students’ spe- digital changes in the teaching environment, the stu- cific content-based needs. The students found the dents’ expectations, the administrative requirements, the program’s proactive support highly helpful, with many online code of conduct, and the support systems avail- acknowledging that the individualized goal-based study- able were presented. Furthermore, students could send ing strategies and short-interval follow-up sessions their inquiries, concerns, and ideas to the COVID-19 re- boosted their motivation, accountability, reflectiveness, sponse team through a feedback system. and studying efficiency. Furthermore, coaches provided assistance when the students lost their motivation over Mental health support time and found it challenging to adhere to their plans Four studies concerned psychological issues. In the study for studying; a holistic approach was employed that took of Rastegar Kazerooni et al. [33], a social media platform into account the problems of the study plan as well as was established in Iran for near-peer mentoring during the mental well-being and self-care of the student. In an- the COVID-19 pandemic. Ten senior medical students other study, the coordinated national responses of med- who had been thoroughly trained in peer mentoring ical teaching institutions during the COVID-19 were supervised by the medical education faculty staff in pandemic were discussed by Ashokka et al. [26], with a their efforts to mentor 371 juniors through the online particular emphasis being placed on the need to sustain platform. During discussions about the junior students’ medical education. One central theme discussed was the concerns and needs, several key recommendations were enhancement of university support systems. Online passed on by the senior peers, including stress manage- communication platforms formed the basis of the major- ment and relaxation, exercise, virtual contact with peers ity of the social support and teaching services. Further- and family, and time management during the quarantine more, each sub-cohort or clinical group of students had period. According to a survey of the participants, the
Ardekani et al. BMC Medical Education (2021) 21:352 Page 5 of 11
Table 1 Summary of the reviewed studies
Author(s) Country Goal Intervention (n = participants) Outcomes
Ashokka Singapore To provide students with social, Support was provided to quarantined By obtaining informal feedback from the
et al. [26] educational, emotional, and material students through volunteer groups, peer parties involved, the researchers found
support. support systems, and faculty staff, some that a smooth transition to online
of whom visited the student dormitories communication was made, though
while maintaining personal protection. technical difficulties (e.g., poor internet
Both educational and emotional support bandwidth) and concerns regarding the
was provided, with relief packages also need for real-life student-patient interac-
being dispensed among the students. tions were put forth by both students
Online communication platforms formed and staff.
the basis of the majority of the social
support and teaching services.
Blasco Brazil Maintaining mental and emotional Short videos were provided in order to Early feedback obtained via social media
et al. [27] stability address emotional and mental issues were analyzed by a qualitative approach,
and coping strategies. The videos were indicating the positive impact of the
adapted from cinema movies. program.
Gernert Germany Adapting to the unexpected halt in Adapting the existing mentoring A survey showed that the participating
et al. [28] traditional mentoring and fixing the program to digital platforms through students had a high degree of
resulting confusion of many students. three different events: 1. How To Klink satisfaction. Also, online support
(n = 120); 2. FachartzDuell (n = 105); and platforms were welcomed as well as in-
3. Eight sessions of Auf ein gesprach mit person strategies.
(AEGM), which provided support in
clinical studies and career counseling.
Guse et al. Germany To investigate the effect of mentoring General mentoring program (g- Trainees in e- and g- mentoring groups
[29] on psychological issues and mentoring) for all volunteer students had lower levels of mental issues. Most
perspectives on the educational status and e-mentoring for students with out- of the participants (55%) were
of students. standing course outcomes and scientific concerned about their educational status
interest (from year two onwards). Out- in the pandemic era. More students in
comes were evaluated with the Patient the e-mentoring group reported being
Health Questionnaire (PHQ-4) and by de- “as worried or unworried as before”
termining the perspectives on educa- about the educational status. The major-
tional status using self-created objectives ity of students, regardless of mentoring,
in comparison with students who did reported a drop in motives for
not participate in mentoring programs education.
(n = 543).
Hodgson United To offer online virtual support to Student support groups were Positive feedback was obtained
& Hagan Kingdom students. transitioned to a virtual support system regarding the new support system.
[30]. using the Microsoft Teams software
(Microsoft, Redmond, WA, U.S.) at two
UK universities during the COVID-19
pandemic.
Huddart United To resolve medical students’ ambiguity A one-hour national Twitter-based dis- Some of the students’ critical concerns
et al. [31] Kingdom about incoherent information and cussion on the uncertainties, concerns, included the fear of burnout, the
exhibit student initiatives. and initiatives of UK medical students necessity of adequate supervision, and
concerning the COVID-19 was done. the need for personal protective
equipment. Furthermore, students
shared uncertainty regarding whether
they could obtain the required clinical
skills through online learning systems.
Lee et al. Singapore To provide academic support to A coaching program was devised using The program led to significant
[32] medical students, thereby helping the master adaptive learning (MAL) improvements in the students’ academic
them overcome problems related to framework to build on medical students’ performance besides providing them
new educational programs during the abilities and provide them with much- with an excellent support network
COVID-19 pandemic. needed support during the COVID-19 during the troubling conditions.
pandemic. The framework consisted of
the four stages of planning, learning,
assessing, and adjusting.
Rastegar Iran To improve students’ coping skills and Junior medical students underwent The survey questionnaire indicated a
Kazerooni mental preparedness in the face of the near-peer mentoring by senior students positive impact on the professional
et al. [33] pandemic. and expert faculty members using a so- growth of the juniors. The program
cial media platform. (n = 371) helped them to adjust to the
unprecedented conditions. Nonetheless,
the desire for non-virtual face to face
consultations prevailedArdekani et al. BMC Medical Education (2021) 21:352 Page 6 of 11
Table 1 Summary of the reviewed studies (Continued)
Author(s) Country Goal Intervention (n = participants) Outcomes
Stetson USA To promote professional identity The Zoom application (Zoom Video The students felt that by allowing them
et al. [34] formation and reduce anxiety, fear, and Communications Inc., USA) was used to to discuss their thoughts and emotions
stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. facilitate small group-based guided re- with their peers, the program reduced
flection to promote professional identity their isolation and normalized their
formation by mitigating anxiety, fear, reactions, ultimately reducing stress and
and stress among medical students of anxiety.
the San Francisco School of Medicine.
Zibold Germany To adapt to online methods for Monthly training for peer mentors via Positive feedback was provided from the
et al. [35] mentoring medical students. Zoom, weekly counseling sessions with program users. Also, users asked for the
the mentoring program coordinator for continuation of the online program as
students, and developing a new activity well as in-person ones.
(“PubQuiz”) to reduce the psychological
burden and increase collaborations
between mentees and mentors (n = 35).
program positively impacted the professional growth of those facing similar experiences during the pandemic.
the juniors and helped them to adjust to the unprece- An innovative passive approach to ensure mental well-
dented conditions. Nonetheless, the desire for non- being and teach coping mechanisms to the students was
virtual face to face consultations prevailed. In a related taken by Blasco et al. [27] in Brazil. Short videos aimed
article, Stetson et al. [34] discussed their experience with at addressing problems arising from the pandemic were
the use of the Zoom application (Zoom Video Commu- provided. These videos were adapted from cinema
nications Inc., USA) to provide small, group-based, movies, and each one featured a senior teacher speaking
guided reflection sessions aimed at promoting profes- about a related subject (e.g., maintaining emotional sta-
sional identity formation by mitigating anxiety, fear, and bility, team-based work, leadership, how to stay focused,
stress among medical students of the San Francisco etc.). A qualitative analysis of preliminary feedback from
School of Medicine during the COVID-19 pandemic. the participants showed that the videos addressed prob-
The students felt that by empowering them to discuss lems that were parallel with everyday experience, leaving
their thoughts and emotions with their peers, the pro- a positive impact on the participants.
gram reduced their isolation and normalized their reac-
tions, ultimately reducing both stress and anxiety. In Combination of support approaches
another study, Hodgson and Hagan [30] described their Both academic and mental support were discussed sim-
experience with the transition of student support groups ultaneously in four studies [26, 28, 29, 35], three of
to a virtual support system using the Microsoft Teams which [28, 29, 35] described the transitioning of previ-
software (Microsoft, Redmond, WA, U.S.) at two UK ously active mentoring programs to online platforms.
universities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Institu- Both individual and group activities were used to address
tional subscriptions were obtained for the software, with the needs of the students. The results of these studies
free access to all students and staff via smartphones and showed students and faculty members to be highly re-
computers. The software facilitated both one-to-one and ceptive to online methods for mentoring, indicating that
group communication via video, audio, and text. A key they could be as effective as face-to-face mentoring. The
finding was that the quality of the experience for both programs mainly included career counseling and ses-
students and staff was enhanced when video calls were sions aimed at reducing social isolation. One study re-
made instead of audio calls as the parties involved could ported that students using mentoring services were less
have a better conversation when they could see one an- mentally burdened than those who did not partake in
other. Furthermore, scheduled video calls were useful in mentoring activities [29]. Ashokka et al. [26] provided
maintaining an organized structure, which was essential social support to students who had returned from other
for keeping a routine, maintaining well-being, and allow- countries and/or were quarantined. Support was pro-
ing the parties to understand and relate to the program. vided through volunteer groups, peer support systems,
Positive feedback was also obtained regarding the group and faculty staff, some of whom visited the student dor-
chat system, which allowed students to virtually connect mitories while maintaining personal protection. Relief
with other members of their cohort in the unprece- packages were also dispensed among the students.
dented circumstances of social distancing in which anx-
iety and loneliness levels have increased due to social Discussion
withdrawal. Student feedback indicated that this group A review of the current literature on student support
chat function provided some relief in connecting with systems during the current COVID-19 pandemic isArdekani et al. BMC Medical Education (2021) 21:352 Page 7 of 11 represented in the present article. Not unexpectedly, all the extracted studies, both active and passive measures of the included studies employed internet-based infra- were used to support students mentally. Whether in structure for supporting students at least in part of their groups or individually, online mentoring activities were re- program. Except for some included studies, the majority ported to be as effective as in-person activities in mitigat- of reports were not explicitly designed to investigate out- ing the mental burden [29]. Also, producing videos and comes of the devised support strategies and merely de- teaching trainees through engaging modalities may be scribed the innovations. During the COVID-19 more appreciated by students [27]. While any effort to re- pandemic, more context-appropriate support mecha- duce the psychological burden of students, especially in nisms are required to lessen the burden on the students this period, is noteworthy, it should be remembered that and better prepare for similar future situations [37, 38]. the main approach of universities should be to eliminate COVID-19-related deaths and morbidities, as well as the causes of such psychological burden. Uncertainties protective policies implemented by authorities such as about being a competent physician, lack of internet access, social distancing and cessation of in-person activities, unfamiliarity with online education service, campus clos- have affected mental health negatively and, as a result, ure, time gaps in different parts of the world in distance led to psychological problems among students [16–19, education, financial difficulties for students and their fam- 39–41]. These repercussions are significant enough to ilies during the pandemic, and a lack of social contact are necessitate extensive and direct measures to mitigate the among issues that have adversely impacted students’ men- pandemic’s effect on individuals and communities [42]. tal health [18, 39, 40, 49–53]. Devising a comprehensive The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed the experts in support system that addresses all of the emerging issues the medical education community to develop and dis- can help reduce these burdens. Of note, some students are seminate their findings as quickly as possible. This has much more prone to mental health issues than others. resulted in a rapid and rather unusual expansion of the Even before the pandemic, students from low-income literature in this field, reflecting the interest of re- families, immigrants, and minority groups faced many searchers in the different ways of supporting medical hardships [9]. As a result of the new problems posed by students during this era [36, 43]. Coping with the unex- the pandemic, these people are unquestionably much pected changes necessitates educational and emotional more fragile than before and need extensive attention [9, support [44–46], which will help to stabilize the current 18]. Hence, providing support to vulnerable students in chaos in educational systems. However, to date, the pri- the light of current difficulties is indispensable. mary focus of universities has mainly been addressing students’ physical health (e.g., cancellation of in-person What is the role of peer support strategies? activities), with mental health often being overlooked. Peer support has recently received a lot of attention in Medical training is not the same in format across the medical education [13, 54]. It is a two-way interaction world. First, there are multiple paths of entering medical between students from the same discipline that helps school depending on the country. In most countries, stu- them meet their academic objectives. During this dents can enter a medical school once they finish sec- process, students gain advice about how to cope with ondary school. In North American countries, however, a mental and academic difficulties more effectively from bachelor’s degree is also required. Second, undergradu- senior peers or faculty members [55]. The importance of ate medical education duration varies from place to this type of support in the COVID-19 era is much more place. For instance, in the USA, students spend 4 y in significant due to physical distancing restrictions be- undergraduate medical education, while this period lasts tween students. Rastegar Kazerooni et al. achieved posi- for 5 y in Singapore and UK, 6 y in Germany and Brazil, tive results through peer mentoring between medical and 7 y in Iran [47, 48]. Mandatory medical service pro- students via social media [33]. Bridson et al. described a grams before entering residency are also considered in number of internet-based peer support services for some parts of the world like Iran. Finally, the role of healthcare professionals worldwide, emphasizing the im- medical students in the COVID-19 era is an area of dis- portance of addressing mental health issues during the pute, with some hospitals forcing them to serve as pandemic by utilizing this approach [56]. Although this healthcare workers. Based on variations in undergradu- form of assistance is not exclusive to the COVID-19 era, ate medical education, appropriate support systems for the use of such internet-based support by universities students should be considered to serve them in their can be highly beneficial given the circumstances of social own educational context and culture. and physical distancing. How can mental health support be addressed? Infrastructure as a key concern As described earlier, most of the reviewed studies’ primary Although online methods have been suggested in all in- concerns were addressing mental health issues. Among cluded studies, it should be borne in mind that using
Ardekani et al. BMC Medical Education (2021) 21:352 Page 8 of 11
these methods cannot act as a panacea for all problems passive support must also be provided by the univer-
that arise due to the pandemic, and the tendency for sities, and students can use these services if required.
face-to-face support methods prevailed, especially after Much of what is offered today as student support in
vaccination. Throughout these volatile times, online medical universities falls into this level. Future research
teaching has facilitated the continuity of medical training should take into account these various levels of support
[57–60]. However, both faculty members and students, and help students who are using innovative approaches.
particularly in less developed parts of the globe, are suf- While offering support services at each of these levels is
fering from a lack of internet and infrastructure access, valuable, it should be acknowledged that prevention al-
which has contributed to inequities in the use of online ways takes precedence over treatment, and the factors
education systems by students [9, 61, 62]. Besides, we that put pressure on students should be eliminated to
should not forget that many clinical students are forced the greatest extent possible. The following steps must be
to attend rotations and must live in dormitories. As a re- taken to implement a system that responds to the stu-
sult, one of the most critical facets of aiding students at dents’ needs during this era: (a) a needs assessment
this period is not only paving the way for them to use should be performed among students; (b) medical edu-
new educational services, but also providing support in cation specialists and faculty officials should plan to
terms of facilities to reduce the current burden. Ashokka meet the identified needs; (c) the impacts of the imple-
et al. reported that providing relief packages to students mented programs should be investigated to ensure their
who were in quarantine or those who came back from quality.
abroad can positively impact students [26]. Considering Of note, universities had valuable systems in place to
that physical distancing is an effective method to prevent support students before the pandemic began. With the
the spread of the disease, medical schools are forced to onset of the pandemic and the implementation of pre-
use online and virtual strategies to support students. ventive policies, many of these programs were inevitably
This sudden change in the way students are educated canceled. However, by taking advantage of digital sys-
will undoubtedly give rise to many problems for univer- tems, we can move from conventional to online ap-
sities [37]. Therefore, the service delivery infrastructure proaches. As described in some studies, a transition to
in medical schools is bound to change, and further re- online strategies for supporting and mentoring students
search should be done to determine and assess novel has the potential to be as efficient as previous services
ways of providing support to students. [28, 29, 35]. However, the outcomes of the online pro-
grams are yet to be evaluated.
What can we do? This study reviewed new ways to empower and sup-
Considering the numerous challenges that students face port students during this challenging time. As reported
during this period, no one can deny the value of provid- in two previous systematic reviews on medical education
ing them with support. But how can this assistance be developments in response to COVID-19, only 4–6.3% of
provided? Do we adequately support the healthcare literature has dealt with student support [36, 43]. In the
workers of the not-so-distant future? Do we help them present research, we considered three studies that were
on the road to becoming those who take action to ad- common with the previous reviews [30, 32, 33]. Due to
dress a society’s needs? Will part-time and short-term different selection criteria and rapid expansion of the lit-
support help to eliminate these shortages? We should erature, we included seven studies that had not been
aim to answer these questions in future research. mentioned in the two previous high-quality reviews.
The mentioned obstacles can be turned into incentives
by improving student support programs. We propose a Strengths and limitations
support system consisting of four different levels that ac- As described above, there are several ways of supporting
tively respond to the concerns of students (Fig. 2). At students during these unprecedented times, and it is up
the first level, supportive policies should be aimed at to medical faculties around the world to support and
preventing problems that adversely affect students and empower their students. The reviewed studies present
foster a supportive culture and environment. At the sec- valuable information for medical school authorities who
ond level, students with pre-existing conditions that wish to employ different support systems for students
could lead to psychosocial issues should be cared for in during the unforeseeable future. As a limitation, first,
order to prevent the development of serious mental con- there were no randomized controlled trials or high-
ditions. At the third level, authorities should actively find quality interventions on the efficacy of support systems
students who are most at risk of suffering from the psy- devised in response to COVID-19. This can be a call for
chological problems caused by changes related to the action for researchers to design and implement high-
pandemic. Also, screening should be employed to iden- quality interventions based on what we have learned
tify students who need support. At the fourth level, from previous reports. Second, the literature’s infancyArdekani et al. BMC Medical Education (2021) 21:352 Page 9 of 11
Fig. 2 Schema of proposed support system
resulted in a paucity of relevant articles and, conse- students and faculty members can also help in achieving
quently, a small number of included studies. Third, al- optimal training. Future research should investigate the
though all reviewed studies hinted at the excellent question of the extent to which online support can
outcomes of their programs, they mostly described their supersede in-person strategies.
experience with innovating new support methods rather
than comprehensively evaluating the outcomes. Fourth, Abbreviations
we narrowed our inclusion criteria to undergraduate COVID-19: Coronavirus Disease 2019; SARS-CoV-2: Severe Acute Respiratory
medical education, while there may be valuable interven- Syndrome Coronavirus 2
tions to support trainees in other disciplines. Finally, we
reviewed the interventions described in the literature,
Supplementary Information
while there could be support systems around the world The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.
that are yet to be mentioned in publications. org/10.1186/s12909-021-02791-9.
Conclusion Additional file 1: Search strategies and Quality appraisal tool.
Medical students are vulnerable during the COVID-19
pandemic but, if adequately supported both mentally
Acknowledgments
and academically, they can help combat the heavy bur- This study was extracted from the thesis that was completed by Ali Ardekani
den imposed by the pandemic on healthcare organiza- for obtaining the dual MD/MSc degree in medical education. This study was
tions around the globe. Moreover, we all know that this approved by the Deputy of Research, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences
(Project No. 23272).
will not be the last pandemic, so student support and
training during the present outbreak can make a strong
foundation to comprehend how to fight future instances. Authors’ contributions
Designing the study: AA, PT, MA. Analyzing and interpreting the data: AA,
Taken together, the results of our review assert that SAH, PT, ZR, AF, MA, AM. All authors were major contributors in writing the
methods of supporting medical students should be manuscript and approved the final version.
adapted to the new circumstances and environments
and should provide different levels of support through Funding
both online and in-person strategies. As proposed in the Not applicable.
studies, online methods for support can be as effective
as face-to-face strategies. Codified instructions that fa- Availability of data and materials
cilitate the use of online educational methods for Not applicable.Ardekani et al. BMC Medical Education (2021) 21:352 Page 10 of 11
Declarations 15. Huynh Q, Tanasugarn C, Kengganpanich M, Lapvongwatana P, Khuong L,
Thai TT. Mental well-being, and coping strategies during stress for
Ethics approval and consent to participate preclinical medical students in Vietnam. J Popul Soc Stud. 2019;28:116–29.
The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Shiraz 16. Saraswathi I, Saikarthik J, Senthil Kumar K, Madhan Srinivasan K, Ardhanaari
University of Medical Sciences (Ethics code: IR.SUMS.REC.1399.1124) M, Gunapriya R. Impact of COVID-19 outbreak on the mental health status
of undergraduate medical students in a COVID-19 treating medical college:
a prospective longitudinal study. PeerJ. 2020;8:e10164.
Consent for publication 17. Aebischer O, Weilenmann S, Gachoud D, Méan M, Spiller TR. Physical
Not applicable. and psychological health of medical students involved in the
coronavirus disease 2019 response in Switzerland. Swiss Med Wkly.
2020;150:w20418.
Competing interests 18. Guo AA, Crum MA, Fowler LA. Assessing the Psychological Impacts of
Mitra Amini is the associate editor of the BMC Medical Education journal, but COVID-19 in Undergraduate Medical Students. Int J Environ Res Public
there is no competing interest to declare. The authors declare that they have Health. 2021;18:6.
no competing interests. 19. Lasheras I, Gracia-García P, Lipnicki DM, Bueno-Notivol J, López-Antón R, de
la Cámara C, et al. Prevalence of anxiety in medical students during the
Author details COVID-19 pandemic: a rapid systematic review with meta-analysis. Int J
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Received: 15 October 2020 Accepted: 10 June 2021 strategies. J Med Educ Curric Dev. 2020;7:2382120520935059.
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