Trends in targeted academic support for medical students before and during the Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

University students experience various transitions throughout their studies and may benefit from academic support in several ways, including peer support (Gaughf & Foster, 2016), centralised university academic support, and course-specific support provided by those working in the academic language and learning space (Malkin & Chanock, 2018). Course-specific academic support has decreased in recent years with the move to more centralised university support resources, which is thought to be more cost-effective than course-specific support (Barber, 2020; Dunkel et al., 2014). The Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences (FMNHS) at Monash University has been proactive in retaining course-specific academic support for their students in the form of a dedicated unit of academic learning and language specialists. Within the medicine course, support is provided to students through both group workshops and individual appointments. This study examined the changes in support and educational programs provided to individual students during the Covid-19 pandemic versus pre-pandemic. In particular, these changes included the number and variety of students accessing individual appointments, and the nature and variation of topics discussed compared with pre-pandemic appointments.

To evaluate this, a retrospective review of appointments including the two academic years preceding the Covid-19 pandemic and the first two years of the pandemic was undertaken. Data analysis revealed that during the pandemic years, the number of students accessing individual support increased by 43%, and the number of appointments also increased by 35%. In addition, there was an increase in discussion topics related to personal issues, interpersonal communication and career advice during the pandemic years.