STUDY OF THE INFLUENCE OF DISTANCE FORM OF LEARNING ON THE LIFE ACTIVITIES OF STUDENTS OF PHARMACISTS IN THE CONVENTION OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Authors: Dubel N. I. 
Published: April 2022

Currently, the problem of distance learning covers almost all institutions of higher education in Ukraine. The Ministries of Education of all countries of the world, without exception, are forced to respond quickly to changes in everyday life caused by the pandemic, and make adaptive decisions on the organization of the educational process and the provision of distance learning. Distance education is now seen as the only form of education possible in a pandemic caused by COVID-19. As it is unknown how long we will be in quarantine zones, and the educational process must continue, therefore, it is important to study the impact of distance learning on the lives of higher education in Ukraine in a pandemic. To this end, we conducted a voluntary anonymous survey of 56 domestic full-time students of the Department of Pharmacy of Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University. Theoretical, empirical and statistical research methods were used during the research.

The article analyzes the results of online surveys of students on the impact of distance learning on their lives. The results show that half of the students surveyed said that nothing had changed for them in terms of workload during distance learning, more than a third said that the workload had increased significantly, and almost a fifth admitted that the workload during distance learning had become less.

Most students noted that distance learning had a negative effect on their sleep, they could not organize the daily routine so as to go to bed on time. Almost a third of students said that distance learning had a positive effect on the quality and mode of sleep, due to increased time spent at home. One-fifth said that distance learning did not affect their sleep patterns.

The majority of respondents noted that distance learning had a positive effect on eating due to being at home and increasing the time for healthy cooking. Instead, a third of respondents said that distance learning did not affect their diet.

Most pharmacy students reported that their physical activity decreased due to reduced leisure time and limited mobility, and only a few students said that this form of study did not affect their activity. None of the respondents noted an increase in physical activity during distance learning.

Most respondents voted to impair the ability to memorize all kinds of information, while about one-fifth said that distance learning did not affect the quality of memorization.

More than half of the students surveyed said that it is much harder to focus on a class that is online than on a regular class. The students noted that they felt significant emotional stress when attending distance learning classes. One third of the students answered that they did not feel any stress.

Almost half of the respondents consider full-time learning to be the best option, more than a third of students preferred blended learning, while the rest are satisfied with distance learning.

Three-quarters of the pharmacy students surveyed want to return to their usual routine as soon as possible.

So, summarizing the above, we can conclude that more than a third of students reported a significant increase in workload and emotional stress when attending distance learning. Most students noted the negative impact of distance learning on physical activity, sleep and memory. Most respondents noted the positive impact of distance learning on their diet. Half of the respondents think that the best way to master the material is full-time education and want to return to the usual mode of study as soon as possible.