Comparison of Virtual and Actual Education Models on the Learning of Internal Interns During the Pandemic of COVID-19

Background: Following the outbreak of coronavirus and its impact on the educational process of medical students, attention was paid to e-learning due to importance of education and research. The aim of present study is to evaluation of virtual and actual education models on the learning of internal interns during the pandemic of COVID-19. Results: : The mean±SD age of the participants was 24.9±2.3 years, 46% of participants were men and 54% of them live in dormitory. Results of study shows that difference of pre-test and post-test score with actual and virtual education models in the male and female is significantly different (P value=0.020). Virtual education for men and actual education for women have resulted in higher difference scores in pre-test and post-test. Actual and virtual education models were no different in academic achievements of participants. Thus, the scores obtained in 9 areas did not make a significant difference between the two types of educational models. Discussion: Virtual and actual education methods for internal interns were examined and the results showed that there is no significant difference between these two methods in student output. Given the conditions that have created by COVID-19 disease in the world, it seems that the use of virtual education can be a good alternative to educating medical students so that education does not stop.