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Nkemcho Ojeh,1 Heather Harewood,1 Natalie Greaves,1 Natasha Sobers,2 Koelle Boyce,3 Paula Michele Lashley,1 O Peter Adams,1 Joanne Paul-Charles,1 Md Anwarul Azim Majumder1 1Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Bridgetown, Barbados; 2George Alleyne Chronic Disease Research Centre, The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Bridgetown, Barbados; 3Campus Quality Assurance Office, The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Bridgetown, BarbadosCorrespondence: Md Anwarul Azim Majumder; Heather Harewood, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Bridgetown, Barbados, Tel +1 246 4691 ; +1 246 4703, Fax +1 438 9170, Email azim.majumder@cavehill.uwi.edu; heather.harewood@cavehill.uwi.eduIntroduction: Learning style (LS) frameworks have been implemented by educators to promote participatory learning in order to strengthen learner engagement and to enhance learning outcomes. Self-efficacy has been shown to have an association with learning style and is a predictor of clinical performance and other qualities in medical students. This study examined the perspectives of second and final year medical students in a Caribbean-based medical school, relative to their learning approaches, teaching exposures and preparation for assessments.Methods: An interpretivist qualitative approach was used to analyze data from two focus groups, conducted as part of a sequential mixed-methods study (November 2018-February 2019) with medical students in the second and final year of study. Discussions were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and inductively coded with in-depth thematic analysis assisted by NVivo software.Results: Six Year 2 (Female: Male = 5:1) and seven Year 5 (Female: Male = 5:2) participants, ranging between 18 and 34 years and with a range of LS were recruited into the study. Analysis and data reduction produced three organizing themes: “Dynamics of information delivery and

Paula Michele Lashley,1 Natasha P Sobers,2 Michael H Campbell,1 Maisha K Emmanuel,1 Natalie Greaves,1 Marquita Gittens-St Hilaire,1 Madhuvanti M Murphy,1 Md Anwarul Azim Majumder1 1Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Bridgetown, Barbados; 2George Alleyne Chronic Diseases Research Centre (GA CDRC), The University of the West Indies, Bridgetown, BarbadosCorrespondence: Md Anwarul Azim Majumder, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Bridgetown, Barbados, Tel +1 246 8228160, Fax +1 246 438 9170, Email azim.majumder@cavehill.uwi.eduPurpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruption to medical education and clinical training and resulted in stressors that impede student learning. This study aimed to assess student satisfaction and self-efficacy in a novel online clinical clerkship curriculum delivered during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: Fourth- and fifth-year medical students completed an online survey in January 2021 covering the following areas: student satisfaction, self-efficacy, and perceived effectiveness of online versus face-to-face learning.Results: Just over half of students (51%) were satisfied with online clerkship delivery. However, fewer than half of students (46%) believed online learning effectively increased their knowledge, compared to 56% of students who believed face-to-face learning was effective. The perception of the effectiveness of online learning and face-to-face teaching for clinical skills was 18% and 89%, respectively (p < 0.0001). Few students perceived online teaching to be effective for developing social competencies (27%) compared to face-to-face instruction (67%) (p < 0.001). In addition, mean self-efficacy scores were higher for persons who perceived online teaching to be effective for increasing knowledge, improving clinical skills, and developing social competencies. Overall, students’ perception of online learning was stro