Medical education in Syria at a time of crisis: Analysis of the results of the knowledge‐based National Medical Examination

Objective This study explored how the Syrian crisis, training conditions, and relocation influenced the National Medical Examination (NME) scores of final‐year medical students. Methods Results of the NME were used to denote the performance of final‐year medical students between 2014 and 2021. The NME is a mandatory standardised test that measures the knowledge and competence of students in various clinical subjects. We categorised the data into two periods: period‐I (2014–2018) and period‐II (2019–2021). Period‐I represents students who trained under hostile circumstances, which refer to the devastating effects of a decade‐long Syrian crisis. Period‐II represents post‐hostilities phase, which is marked by a deepening economic crisis. Results Collected data included test scores for a total of 18 312 final‐year medical students from nine medical schools (from six public and three private universities). NME scores improved significantly in period‐II compared with period‐I tests (p