Training Medical Students in Pandemic Preparedness: A Systematic Review

Each of the global pandemics to date has left a permanent mark on the general population and significantly impacted the public health standards and human civilization. The purpose of the current review is to explore the significance of pandemic preparedness, identify the role of medical education in improving the same, enlist the potential challenges in the implementation of pandemic preparedness, and enlist the potential solutions to overcome the same. A search of all materials related to the topic was carried out on the PubMed and Google Scholar search engines, and a total of 27 articles were selected based on their suitability with the current review objectives and analyzed. Keywords used in the search include pandemic preparedness in the title alone only (namely, pandemic preparedness [ti] AND medical education [ti]; pandemic preparedness [ti] AND curricula [ti] OR curriculum [ti]; pandemic preparedness [ti] AND COVID-19 [ti]; pandemic preparedness [ti] AND health [ti]; and pandemic preparedness [ti]). Medical education plays an instrumental role in creating a team of skilled and competent health-care workforce, which becomes crucial to minimize the impact of pandemics on individuals, communities, and the health-care delivery system. As medical educators plan to deliver pandemic preparedness education in medical schools, we are expected to encounter different challenges. In conclusion, the training imparted to medical students on pandemic preparedness is crucial in the making of a resilient and adaptable health workforce. To reduce the magnitude of future pandemics, it is the need of the hour to identify the prevailing gaps/barriers and address them proactively to safeguard public health during pandemics.