Presented By: Louise Lawson, Tulane University School of Medicine
Co-Authors: Kerstin Honer zu Bentrup, Tulane University School of Medicine

Purpose 
Numerous studies have been conducted on the influence of the pandemic on medical students' academic performance. The breadth of these studies is as varied as their outcomes ranging from performance declines to no discernible effect or even improvement. Our focus is centered specifically on students' grades in one single three-week module, Basic Infectious Disease, that runs each year in April-May. More specifically, we analyzed grades pertaining to the Introduction to Infectious Diseases (IID) course - which is the dominant component in our Basic Infectious Disease module. 

Methods 
We compiled exam scores for students in the IID course from 2013-2019 and compared this data set to scores for each year from 2020-2023 (with 2024 to be included in the final analysis). Individual questions and the total number of questions on this internal exam were similar within this time frame, with only minor updates made each year. Exam performance datasets were compared using Kruskal-Wallis analysis with Dunn's multiple comparison post-test. Results with p<0.05 were deemed significant. 

Results 
While student performance stayed fairly consistent overall between 2013-2019, we noted a statistically significant increase in 2020, when the course was taught just 4 weeks after the university moved to complete online instruction. Grades decreased significantly from year to year in 2021 and 2022; however, we noted a significant increase in performance in 2023. 

Conclusion 
A number of factors have been identified that negatively impacted students' academic performance during the height of the pandemic, such as lack of social interactions including study groups, isolation, illness, etc. Our study reflects this - with a notable exception at the very beginning of the pandemic, when students performed better than in previous years. However, the trend in our small, controlled data set indicates a rebound, particularly in academic realms, suggesting that the pandemic's effects are subsiding with time.