Evaluation of Online Medical Technologist Training Courses Conducted During the Covid-19 Pandemic in 2020 Compared With Face-to-Face Lectures in 2019

This study compared students enrolled in face-to-face (F/F) lectures in 2019 to those who received online teaching (O/T) during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 in terms of class evaluation questionnaires, regular exams scores, and the national medical technologist qualifying examination. A statistical comparison of survey results and grades was conducted with 389 students (first- to fourth-year students) enrolled in the Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine at Teikyo University’s Faculty of Medical Technology in 2019 who received F/F lectures and 403 first- to fourth-year students enrolled in the same department in 2020 who received O/T entirely. Statistical significance was determined using a t-test with p<0.05 considered statistically significant. The class evaluation questionnaire results showed that students’ self-study time, interest in the subject, and sense of achievement were significantly higher for first-, second-, and third-year students in F/F courses than those who received O/T lectures. However, this trend was reversed for fourth-year students. The fourth-year students scored much higher on the national medical technologist examination than the 2020 class. These results indicate that O/T education encourages students to learn independently, leading to improved performance. Therefore, this study suggests that education quality can be improved by combining O/T education with F/F education.