Utilization of different aspects of digital health among pulmonology residents in Turkey during the pandemic

Abstract

<b>Introduction:</b> Pulmonology residents are at the forefront of COVID-19 patient care and have had significant changes in their clinical practices during the pandemic. We aimed to evaluate the use of online education and telemedicine and regarding residents’ perspectives. <b>Methods:</b> An online survey link, questioning use of online education, and perceptions of changes in education, was sent to 486 pulmonology residents in Turkey via e-mail and messages. <b>Results:</b> Based on assumptions of 200 participants, with a response rate of 41%, online education was quite limited in the first wave of the pandemic (generally &lt;10%). In the last one year of their training, nearly half of the residents stated that the online education was beneficial; while 67% thought that online lessons/meetings were less effective than face-to-face activities. Residents mostly preferred intermittent use of online education after pandemic (Table 1). Only a quarter of them had telemedicine (TM) experience; while nearly half of them thought that it had a positive effect on their clinical experience. <b>Conclusion:</b> During pandemic era, online education requirement increased in Turkey. While online-education or telemedicine cannot replace the hands-on training and clinical practice, respectively; the combination of online and onsite modules may be a viable alternative. <b>Table 1.</b> Training preferences of residents after the COVID-19 pandemic