Online education experiences of the students studying in health care departments during the covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted face to face education and lead the transition to online education in Turkey, as it happened all around the world. The aim of this study is to describe the feelings, opinions, and experiences of the students of health departments about online education. In this qualitative study, interviews were conducted with 40 students in Turkey. The content analysis revealed five themes: (1) ambivalent feelings, (2) feelings of advantages and disadvantages, (3) differences of online education from face to face education, (4) problems experienced, and (5) recommendations. The students of health departments had various feelings such as happiness and worry in the first days of online education. Throughout the online education, students also could not benefit from applied courses. Moreover, the students experienced problems stemming from themselves, the system, and, even if a little, from the teaching staff.