EDUCATIONAL NEEDS IN POST GRADUATE PUBLIC HEALTH MEDICINE SPECIALTY TRAINING IN NOVEL CORONAVIRUS DISEASE (COVID-19) FIGHT

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the educational needs of public health specialists and students in training during the COVID-19 pandemic. The curriculum of the public health specialty education was assessed in terms of responsiveness to problems during a pandemic. Material and Method: Data was collected from public health specialists and students within the context of Public Health Proficiency Board monitoring and evaluation work, using a data collection form created on a web-based platform between 12 and 31 May 2020. Results: Among 170 participants, 57 were specialists and 133 were in training to be specialists. Of the participants, 67.6% female and 32.4% male. Participating in this study during a time of pandemic, 89.4% stated that they worked in the frontlines in pandemic control. Of these 71.8% (n=109) stated that they faced difficulties during the pandemic. Top two difficulties were burnout (n=59) and anxiety of contracting the disease (n=58). Specialty training was sufficient according to 26% of the participants. Residents of public health specialty training program and graduates of the program differed in their views of the content of specialty training (p=0.04). Conclusion: In conclusion, we find it advisable to organize training activities to address the educational needs of students’ training in public health that emerged during the pandemic process.