Abstract:

Restrictive measures related to COVID-19 have forced universities in Bulgaria to switch to distance learning. The remote form of education introduced at the Medical University - Plovdiv necessitated distance lectures, practical classes and exams, causing a digital leap in medical education. The challenges for students, teachers, technical support are many, but one of the main priorities of the university is to improve the quality of education, including in the electronic environment.

The aim of the study is to analyze and evaluate the organization and conduct of distance learning and to analyze the opinion and attitude of students about the digital platforms used.

Material and methods:
An anonymous survey was conducted among 236 students from eight different health care specialties at the Medical College at MU Plovdiv. The survey was conducted online and included a specific questions and a semi-structured interview about the digital platforms used.

Results and discussion:
At the Medical University - Plovdiv was provided the opportunity to use several electronic platforms by students (Microsoft Teams, Moodle, edo.mup.bg, e-mail and communication apps). The leading platform is Microsoft Teams - a virtual classroom for online training and correspondence with students. During the lesson there is an active written, audio and video communication between the teacher and the students and probably that is why the majority of students prefer this platform. Moodle is also a widely used platform for building a virtual learning environment, which implements constructive learning theory and offers a range of functionalities for building learning with a focus on the student with synchronous and asynchronous capabilities. 13.1% of students rate distance learning as a very good form of education, 28% - good, 34.3% - satisfactory and 24.6% do not approve of this form of education.
The results of the study present the attitude of students and compare the forms of education - traditional and distance, which allows us to build specific approaches to improve the environment and improve the quality of education. 45.3% of the respondents prefer face-to-face training, 21.2% are for distance learning, and 33.5% choose hybrid training.

Conclusion:
The interactive approach to distance learning requires the creation of partnerships between the parties in the educational process in order to implement effective cognitive communication between all. In e-learning, teacher and student are separated in time and place - there is no or very limited live contact. A significant challenge is that not all subjects can be fully adapted to electronic platforms, as they require the acquisition of practical skills and habits, especially in practical work in a real professional environment with a patients.

The problem of how effective distance learning of medical professionals is from conducting in a real clinical setting remains debatable, especially for practical training.

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, electronic platforms, health care students.