Wohlfarth, Benny; McConnell, Meghan M; Huguenin-Dezot, Michaël; Nendaz, Mathieu; Kaderli, Reto M (2023). Is COVID-19 perceived as a threat to equal career opportunities amongst Swiss medical students? A cross-sectional survey study from Bern and Geneva. GMS Journal for Medical Education, 40(1), Doc4. German Medical Science 10.3205/zma001586
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INTRODUCTION
Students frequently rely on part-time jobs to earn a living wage. We sought to evaluate the sociodemographic status of Swiss medical students and their perception regarding equal career opportunities in view of impaired part-time job opportunities under the COVID-19 pandemic.
METHODS
We conducted an anonymous online survey among Swiss medical students from Bern and Geneva over a period of 4 months between December 2020 and April 2021. We evaluated sociodemographic data, current living situation, part-time job occupation as well as other sources of income to fund living expenses, and, by means of a five-point Likert scale (1=strongly disagree and 5=strongly agree), whether COVID-19 was perceived as impeding equal career opportunities.
RESULTS
Of 968 participants, corresponding to around 13.8% of all medical students in Switzerland, 81.3% had part-time jobs. Amongst the employed, 54.8% worked to afford living expenses and 28.9% reported a negative financial impact due to reduced part-time jobs under the pandemic. The loss of part-time jobs was perceived to make medical studies a privilege for students with higher socioeconomic status (4.11±1.0), whose opportunity to study is independent of a regular income. A governmental backup plan was considered crucial to support affected students (4.22±0.91).
DISCUSSION
COVID-19 and its sequelae are perceived as a threat for Swiss medical students and lead to a disadvantage for those with lower socioeconomic status. Nationwide measures should be established to foster equal career opportunities.
Item Type: |
Journal Article (Original Article) |
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Division/Institute: |
04 Faculty of Medicine > Department of Gastro-intestinal, Liver and Lung Disorders (DMLL) > Clinic of Visceral Surgery and Medicine > Visceral Surgery 04 Faculty of Medicine > Department of Gastro-intestinal, Liver and Lung Disorders (DMLL) > Clinic of Visceral Surgery and Medicine |
UniBE Contributor: |
Wohlfarth, Benny, Huguenin-Dezot, Michaël, Kaderli, Reto Martin |
Subjects: |
600 Technology > 610 Medicine & health |
ISSN: |
2366-5017 |
Publisher: |
German Medical Science |
Language: |
English |
Submitter: |
Pubmed Import |
Date Deposited: |
20 Mar 2023 08:34 |
Last Modified: |
26 Mar 2023 03:15 |
Publisher DOI: |
10.3205/zma001586 |
PubMed ID: |
36923320 |
Uncontrolled Keywords: |
equal career opportunities living expenses loss of part-time jobs medical students; pandemic socioeconomic status |
BORIS DOI: |
10.48350/180272 |
URI: |
https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/180272 |
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