Determining the Digital Skills of Medical Students and Faculty in Thailand: A Mixed Methods Approach

Abstract

Medical education has experienced an increasing transition from traditional learning modalities towards online learning platforms. This shift required the acquisition and maintenance of digital competencies, particularly internet skills, for both faculty and students. In Thailand, these skills are considered part of the essential elements of the framework of the 21st Century Student Outcome and Support Systems, which was stated in the 20 years’ National Education Plan. However, it is unclear what internet skills educators and students already have or need to acquire. Therefore, this study assessed overall digital skills and the factors that influence their attainment in a group of Thai medical students and faculty. This study was a single institution, mixed methods study using a previously validated survey and focus groups/semi-structured interviews. The survey results of the first quantitative phase were utilized to guide the purposive sampling and to inform the focus group and semi-structured interview guides for the next qualitative phase. 835 medical students and 83 medical faculty responded to the surveys for a response rate of 54% and 43% respectively. There were four focus groups of 32 medical students and six semi-structured interviews of faculty. In general, there was no difference between the overall internet skills score of medical students and faculty, but significant differences in the subfactors with faculty self-reporting higher information navigation skills and decreased mobile skills than medical students. Follow-up focus groups and interviews found that barriers to digital skills for both faculty and students included a lack of dedicated time to learn these skills and inconsistent devices/compatibility. Facilitators of digital skills for faculty and students included previous experience with online teaching/learning. Additional facilitators for faculty included maintaining a flexible mindset toward new technologies and using these technologies in classroom learning for the students. From these results, an overall strategic plan to inform Thai medical schools on how to promote digital competence was created. Specifically, this plan supports the creation of dedicated student and faculty development programs with co-teaching strategies, open-source learning platforms with readily available institution-based IT support, and clear device and operating system standards with subsidized options for students/faculty with less financial means. These reforms will help enhance digital competence among medical students and faculty throughout Thailand and may ultimately improve overall learning, retention, and possibly patient care.