Abstract:

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic on a global scale has necessitated changes in people's lifestyles, working conditions, crisis management, restructuring of various areas based on new information and communication technologies, the attitude and approach of society and business to the processes of globalization. In order to limit the spread of coronavirus infection, training in higher medical schools is transferred to a remote electronic environment for medical professionals.

The aim of the research is to study the student's opinion about the specific characteristics and possibilities of distance learning in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Material and methods:
An anonymous online survey was conducted in November 2021 among students studying medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and health care. 322 students from all training courses, including trainees, took part. A sociological method was used - the questionnaire was structured in three panels: organization of distance learning, assessment of training in a pandemic and personal assessment of the pandemic situation.

Results and discussion:
The students indicate that 44.4% are insufficiently motivated to approach distance learning, as 61.1% believe that it is a good form of training in an emergency but prefer the traditional training option. For 75.3% of the respondents, the training of medical specialists is well organized after the announcement of the pandemic and mainly the difficulties in 38.9% are mainly of a technical nature related to the distance learning platforms. 25.3% of the respondents claim that a large part of the subjects cannot be conducted in an electronic environment. 82.6% of the students successfully organize the activities in a digital environment and have very good communication with teachers, the technical department and others. Students are satisfied with the theoretical training, focusing on active learning methods - discussions, clinical cases, case studies. Despite their positive attitude towards distance and hybrid learning, they prefer to learn in a real learning environment, to have the opportunity to gain professional experience, practical skills and key competencies, to build the right approach to the patient during clinical internships and practices.

Conclusion:
Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the need for greater use of modern technologies in medical education and training, adaptation of pedagogy and development of digital skills was largely realized. It is necessary to develop new medical programs and innovative teaching methods for the formation of practical skills in students of medical specialties to work in remote and hybrid environments.

Acknowledgments:
This study is supported by Plovdiv Medical University`s research project KOB-05/2021 – „COVID-19 pandemic - challenges for the training in MU – Plovdiv“ .

Keywords:

Distance learning, medical specialists.