Analysis of the educational needs of medical students in situations of emergencies, political crises, civil conflicts, or wars: the case of Myanmar

Abstract In Myanmar, during the civil war following the February 2021 military coup many medical students suspended their studies. The University of Parma is committed to organise alternative courses for Myanmar medical students. The aim of this study was to examine through a mixed method the current educational needs of Myanmar medical students and the feasibility of alternative training courses. The quantitative research revealed that many students can attend educational activities online. The main difficulty concerns training through clinical practice, although some of them believe in the possibility that online simulation can partially make up for this deficiency. The training areas of main interest are: Mental Health, Emergency Medicine, Public Health, Healthcare Management. The qualitative study revealed that the students are confident that foreign universities can provide online training activities not only during the civil war, but also when peace has been established, and that such activities may be legally acknowledged. These results, in addition to documenting the resilience of the students involved in this research, respond well to the need to direct training to the effective actual needs whilst addressing the need to understand the specific context in which students will have to benefit from training, even in war situations.