Zoom learning is terrible; For medicine, it's even worse

Students should ask for a refund; Trainees should object

Over the last month, I have given several lectures in person to bio-medical audiences (residents, fellows, faculty, students), and I have given several Zoom-based grand rounds, lectures, and talks to similar crowds.

Distance had nothing to do with the modality chosen (some in person talks were far, and some zoom lectures were close)

COVID19 case rates, test positivity, hospitalizations or deaths per capita had nothing to do with it either. Just like school closures, the response and the problem seem to have no connection.

In a couple instances, the same people who I saw on a tiny square on zoom during the talk, I saw later in team rooms, restaurants or bars in person— wearing flimsy, loose fitting masks or lowering them to sip a beverage, in a sea of stagnant air, and a cramped space.

A scientist observing this, oblivious to our insanity, would conclude that zoom use has nothing to do with COVID19.

Instead, zoom talks have everything to do with

• fear/ anxiety about covid19 (still present at some in institutions)

• laziness/ apathy amongst the audience (who wants to go in for a mediocre talk— so much driving)

• inertia

We should not overestimate the fraction of people still afraid of COVID-19. Every-time I walk around, I see people back to normal. Every time I look online, I see people saying that if you get COVID19, you will get long COVID and your organs will liquify, starting with your brain.

There is a group of people who are still trying to avoid COVID19. As someone told me today, avoiding COVID is like avoiding being called for jury duty. Yet, the zero-covid types apply their apprehension to halt events for others. It’s strange. I was more than happy not to attend things I didn’t want to go to, rather than try to cancel the events entirely.

Zoom lectures are bad for the speaker, but they are awful for the audience. Students can be distracted, and are less likely to interrupt or ask questions. The signal can cut in and out. “Can you see my screen now?” and other technical difficulties can rob you of 5 or 10 minutes.

I pity medical students forced to rot in their apartments and listen to lectures via zoom, or worse, video recorded zoom. I feel even worse for fellows and residents. They are literally working in person, what are you shielding them from?

A bad lecture is no fun, but a good lecture is transformative. It can change the direction of your career, and make you see the world differently. It has to happen in person. You have to be in the moment.

Continuing zoom lectures in year 3 of the pandemic is a mistake. We might as well give up lectures entirely, and watch videos on youtube. At least then you can watch the best lecture on the topic, not just the person who happens to be at your institution.

Or, we can recommit to in-person lectures, and take advantage of the tangible and intangible benefits of being face to face. There is nothing on zoom that isn’t better in-person.