Scientific publishing: a free-choice elective course for undergraduate Medical Students challenged by COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract Background: Scientific publishing is a crucial key competency in the newly integrated five years’ competency based undergraduate medical program adopted in Egypt since 2018. However, writing and publishing in peer-reviewed journals can be an overwhelming duty especially with the condensation of main curriculum and the challenge of the covid-19 pandemic. The aim of this work was to describe our experience in the design and implementation of a scientific publishing elective course challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: A four weeks’ duration course was offered for the 3rd year medical students by six staff members of different specialties and experience on how to prepare a review article to be ready for submission to an academic journal. Course learning outcomes focused on appropriate structure and writing of a review article, authorship and author order in research team, selecting suitable journal for publication and writing a cover letter for the submitted article. The students worked individually & in teams in synchronized and a-synchronized session. At the end of the course student and staff feedback were taken. Results: Out of 143 students joined the course, 89.6% students felt more knowledgeable about scientific publishing and 64.8% felt confident about submitting a good review article. Chief Points of strengths mentioned by students were Competent supervisors, an authentic experience in writing and publishing, team work, and properly prepared lectures. They showed their interest in joining an advanced level. While, limited course duration and face to face sessions due to covid lockdown, unsuitable timing of course delivery within the academic year, difficulty in communication and cooperation among team members with high work load for both students and staff, were the main points of weakness reported by both students and staff. Conclusion: scientific publishing is a suitable and interesting elective course for undergraduate medical students if successfully delivered in appropriate timing and duration with frequent synchronized sessions