The Psychological, Emotional, and Physical Effects of COVID-19 to 3rd Year and 4th Year Medical Technology Students in a University in Manila and to their Desired Profession

Abstract

The sudden emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic brought a huge global impact to both developed and developing countries. It took a huge toll in people’s daily lives, making it one of the greatest phenomena that has ever happened. This study was conducted to identify the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic to the psychological, emotional, and physical well-being of 3rd year and 4th year Medical Technology students in a university in Manila as well as to their perspectives toward being a healthcare professional. The researchers used a phenomenological approach to understand the experiences of six (6) respondents, from the 3rd year and 4th year level, all enrolled in a university in Manila for the academic year 2020-2021. In-depth interviews were done to gather the data followed by analysis through the use of Colaizzi’s method. The findings of this study in terms of psychological well-being was that the COVID-19 pandemic had mostly negative effects on the participants’ mental health. Analysis revealed that the fear of acquiring and transmitting COVID-19, loss and death of loved ones, government’s lack of response to the health crisis, and sudden shift to online learning were mostly the causes of the psychological distress among the participants. It also had brought a diverse set of emotions to the participants, but negative emotions were more evident in the findings. The physical well-being of the participants were also affected during the pandemic in both positive and negative ways. Some participants mentioned that their lifestyle got healthier since the lockdown, as they were able to do physical exercise, eat healthy meals, focus on skin care, and fix sleeping patterns, while some admitted that they lived a sedentary lifestyle since the lockdown. The perspective of the participants with regards to the effects of COVID-19 affecting their desire to continue the profession were subcategorized into either positive or negative, where both positive and negative perspectives were observed. All participants were concerned with their practical skills due to the online classes acting as hindrance in the application of concepts and practical skills in the laboratory. Three out of six participants lacked the motivation to pursue the profession due to classes held online, while the remaining are still determined to pursue the profession.