In-person Lectures Research Articles

Impact of COVID-19 on Radiology Trainee Safety, Education, and Wellness: Challenges Experienced and Proposed Solutions for the Future.

Impact of COVID-19 on Radiology Trainee Safety, Education, and Wellness: Challenges Experienced and Proposed Solutions for the Future.

An examination into the role of a peer academic online mentoring programme during Emergency Remote Teaching at a South African residential university

For residential universities, the COVID-19 pandemic in the 2020 academic year necessitated the suspension of in-person lectures and a swift transition of classes and other in-person activities to emergency remote teaching (ERT). This included the academic module mentoring programme, cognisant of the potential challenges experienced by first-year students during a period of ERT. The role of an in-person module mentoring programme before ERT was only to provide academic support to first-year students within an introductory financial accounting module to promote student success. This study investigated the role of an academic online mentoring programme for students in an introductory financial accounting module during ERT. A web-based survey was conducted to source the perceptions of both mentors and mentees who participated in an introductory module academic mentoring programme both before and during ERT to analyse whether the role of the academic module mentoring programme had shifted beyond that of academic support in an ERT environment. While academic support remained at the forefront as the main perceived benefit of the online mentoring programme, with the transition to ERT, the findings of this study illustrate an altering role that is more inclusive of additional psychological and peer support and engagement perceived benefits for first-year students who participated in an academic mentoring programme for students in an introductory financial accounting module during a period of ERT. Understanding student perceptions of the value derived for first-year students from an academic online mentoring programme is important in understanding first-year student needs and to provide relevant and applicable training to first-year students to promote student success during ERT. The findings of this study provide insight to institutions and in considering the addition of academic interventions such as offering academic online mentoring programmes during ERT and highlight the perceived value-add from both a mentor and mentee perspective.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic among Undergraduate Dental Students: A Qualitative Study

Introduction: During COVID-19 pandemic, students were introduced to a novel learning platform moving away from in-person lecture classes and pedagogies. Medical courses in general and dentistry in specific has its chunk of curriculum devoted to development of clinical and laboratory skills, patient interaction and management of a wide spectrum of oral and general diseases which affect the human body. Many Universities have shifted to online mode of delivery of lectures from traditional college activities during COVID-19 lockdown Objective: This study was conducted to assess the psychological and social, educational and physical health impact of COVID-19 on dental undergraduate students through a qualitative method. Methods: Qualitative phenomenological approach was undertaken. Focus group discussions and in-depth interview were conducted according to different grades of their study during undergraduate course. Results: Psychologically, the students were anxious of prolonging their undergraduate course and also of the conduct of exams. The students were initially thrilled to be with their close family members; but gradually boredom loomed large. Those who used to regularly take part in sports, games and other physical activities could not continue with those as restrictions were enforced. Conclusion: The students were mostly anxious due to lack of training in clinical dentistry, conduct of exams and course duration. Students were mostly glad to be with their family members during lock down. The physical activity among students have come down drastically.

An analysis of anatomy education before and during Covid-19: August-December 2020.

Coronavirus disease‐2019 (Covid‐19) disrupted the in‐person teaching format of anatomy. To study changes in gross anatomy education that occurred during August–December, 2020 compared to before the pandemic, an online survey was distributed to anatomy educators. The 191 responses received were analyzed in total and by academic program, geographic region, and institution type. Cadaver use decreased overall (before: 74.1 ± 34.1%, during: 50.3 ± 43.0%, P < 0.0001), as well as across allopathic and osteopathic medicine, therapy, undergraduate, and veterinary programs (P < 0.05), but remained unchanged for other programs (P > 0.05). Cadaver use decreased internationally and in the US (P < 0.0001), at public and private (P < 0.0001) institutions, and among allopathic medical programs in Northeastern, Central, and Southern (P < 0.05), but not Western, US geographical regions. Laboratories during Covid‐19 were delivered through synchronous (59%), asynchronous (4%), or mixed (37%) formats (P < 0.0001) and utilized digital resources (47%), dissection (32%), and/or prosection (21%) (P < 0.0001). The practical laboratory examination persisted during Covid‐19 (P = 0.419); however, the setting and materials shifted to computer‐based (P < 0.0001) and image‐based (P < 0.0001), respectively. In‐person lecture decreased during Covid‐19 (before: 88%, during: 24%, P = 0.003). When anatomy digital resources were categorized, dissection media, interactive software, and open‐access content increased (P ≤ 0.008), with specific increases in BlueLink, Acland's Videos, and Complete Anatomy (P < 0.05). This study provided evidence of how gross anatomy educators continued to adapt their courses past the early stages of the pandemic.

Geriatric Knowledge Gaps of Community-Based Providers: A National Study of Asked Questions

Primary care providers (PCP) - internists, family practitioners, nurse practitioners, physician assistants - play an integral role in the care of older adults, although many receive limited geriatrics education. We sought to examine what questions community-based PCPs had about geriatrics and clinical care of older adults. As part of large clinical continuing medical education (CME) conferences across 12 states (FL,GA,CA,IL,NY,MA,DC, PA,AZ,TX,TN,WA), PCPs attended a live in-person 60-minute geriatrics-focused lecture and entered questions into a mobile application. Questions were then qualitatively analyzed using constant-comparison and tie-break methodology. At all sites, 103 questions were asked with 158 upticks (PCPs could check off that they had similar question) with a range of 3-18 questions per lecture. PCPs asked questions on the following common themes: 1.) Medication-related (e.g. discontinuing medicines in asymptomatic patients, optimizing pain relief), 2.) Dementia (e.g. prevention, nutraceuticals, agitation) 3.) Medicare Coding 4.) Falls 5.) Weight loss, and 6.) Insomnia. There were a number of questions referencing incorrect practices (e.g. prescribing inappropriate medications such as benzodiazepines for sleep, placement of gastric tubes in late-stage dementia, antibiotics to treat asymptomatic bacteria). In conclusion, community-based PCPs nationally experience gaps in geriatric knowledge and several utilize practices that could jeopardize older adult health. While attending CME-based lectures is one means of overcoming these gaps, some PCPs may not find time or realize geriatrics as an educational need. PCPs need to be better supported with opportunities to ask geriatric care-related questions in order to improve the care of older adults.

Lessons on Learning in Later Life With the MIT AgeLab 85+ Lifestyle Leaders

Previous research has established the role of lifelong learning in promoting psychological wellbeing and active aging. Population aging necessitates an understanding of the unique opportunities and challenges around formal and informal learning in later life. This paper will share findings from a mixed methods study with the MIT AgeLab 85+ Lifestyle Leaders, a panel comprised of octogenarians and nonagenarians from across the United States. Drawing on an online survey and virtual focus groups with 29 Lifestyle Leaders from January 2021, findings suggest the Lifestyle Leaders most often learned new things from talking with others (46%) and reading print (54%) or online (54%) sources. The majority were familiar with attending in-person lectures or classes (89.7%) and were now using videoconferencing to do these (78.6%). A majority (56.7%) had or are currently participating in a lifelong learning program. Most consider themselves lifelong learners and described this around remaining curious and engaged with life, choices around what one learns, and greater enjoyment of learning. In the survey, a plurality of Lifestyle Leaders indicated the top two challenges affecting their ability to learn were sensory burdens (e.g., hearing loss, declining eyesight) (35%) and their energy level (32.4%); focus group data revealed that recall also is a barrier. Focus group data further highlighted generational experiences around early life learning and career paths, specifically how gender roles, diagnoses of learning disabilities, and evolving digital technology have affected these and changed over the course of their lifetimes.

Virtual inverted classroom to replace in-person radiology lectures at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic - a prospective evaluation and historic comparison

BackgroundIn the time of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, in-person lectures had to be shifted to online learning. This study aimed to evaluate students’ and lecturers’ perception and effectiveness of a virtual inverted classroom (VIC) concept on clinical radiology in comparison to a historic control.MethodsIn the winter semester 2020/21, 136 fourth year medical students who completed the clinical radiology VIC during the pandemic, were included in the single centre, prospective study. Results were compared with a historic control that had finished the physical inverted classroom (PIC) in the immediately preceding year. The VIC consisted of an initial phase of self-determined preparation with learning videos and a second interactive phase of clinical case studies alternating between the virtual lecture hall and virtual buzz groups. At the end of the lecture series, students rated the lecture on a scale of 1 (most positive assessment) to 6 (most negative assessment) through an online survey platform. Additionally, they reported their impressions in free-form text. Lecturers were invited to comment on the VIC in a group interview. Main outcomes were final grades and student perception of the VIC.ResultsStudents’ general impression of VIC was lower than that of PIC (median value of 3 [IQR 4, 2] and 1 [IQR 0, 0], p < 0.001), respectively, p < 0.001). The highest rating was achieved concerning use of the audience response system (median 1 [IQR 1, 0]), and the lowest concerning the buzz groups (median 4 [IQR 5, 3]). Students stated that they would have appreciated more details on reading images, greater focus on plenary case studies, and provision of exam related scripts. Lecturers would have liked better preparation by students, more activity of students, and stronger assistance for group support. Exam grades after VIC were better than after PIC (median 1 [IQR 2, 1] and 2 [IQR 2,1], respectively, p < 0.001).ConclusionsStudents’ overall perception of VIC was satisfactory, although worse than PIC. Final grades improved compared to PIC. Provided an adapted buzz group size and support, VIC may serve as complement in medical education once the pandemic is over.

Success and Satisfaction with Virtual Hematology Curriculum Implemented in Response to COVID-19

Introduction: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Oregon Health and Science University Blood & Host Defense medical school pre-clinical block was reformatted to a completely online curriculum. In previous years, the curriculum consisted of traditional 1-hour lectures from Monday to Wednesday, with small group review sessions on Thursday prior to weekly assessments on Friday. Changes for the virtual curriculum included shortened, pre-recorded lectures divided into modules by topic, with follow-up questions to test comprehension in real-time. These were followed by live, 1-hour Q&A sessions each day. Weekly, 2-3-hour case-based review sessions were also held virtually in real-time. We aimed to study student performance in this new curriculum, and to learn about the satisfaction of both students and instructors with these changes.Methods: To measure performance, class testing averages across graded components were compared to previous years. To measure satisfaction, first-year medical students and course instructors were polled via anonymous, voluntary Qualtrics® surveys after course completion. Answers were given on a 5-point Likert scale. Students were also asked to answer four free-response questions.Results: Class testing averages were similar to previous years across all graded components of the curriculum. Following remediation, the pass rate for the course was 100%. Fifty eight out of 150 students completed the satisfaction survey, a response rate of 39%. Most students found pre-recorded lectures and weekly live review sessions “useful” or “very useful,” but responses were more varied for daily Q&A sessions. Most students either “somewhat preferred” or “greatly preferred” the module-based format over hour-long lectures and indicated they would like a similar format in future virtual blocks. Themes from qualitative questions included a preference for virtual curriculum for its increased flexibility. A small subset of students described a preference for in-person lecture due to increased engagement. Thirteen out of 31 instructors completed the survey, for a response rate of 42%. Six of the respondents indicated that they would prefer the traditional version of the curriculum for the following year, while 5 selected the new virtual-only format. Twelve instructors completed Likert-scale questions comparing the two curriculums. There was no statistically significant difference in satisfaction with lecture format, time and effort to prepare lectures, amount of interaction with students, and overall teaching experience. However, there was a significant increase in dissatisfaction with the quality of student interaction and student engagement with the new virtual curriculum.Conclusions: Students successfully learned in the new, virtual curriculum as demonstrated by summative assessments. Trends that emerged from student feedback included a preference for module-based format over hour-long lectures, and pre-recorded lectures over live sessions. Most respondents enjoyed the weekly live review sessions, but were mixed regarding daily live Q&A sessions. We suspect this mixed feedback for the daily reviews was due to constraints on the schedule and the necessity of viewing all modules each morning prior to the session. From the perspective of instructors, there was perhaps unsurprisingly decreased satisfaction with student engagement in the virtual setting. However, overall, there was no meaningful difference in preference regarding lecture format. When combining this with the diverse needs and preferences of medical students, future versions of the course should consider incorporating more virtual elements. DisclosuresNo relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Flipping a Single Lecture in a Survey Course to Active Learning: Do the Benefits Justify the Costs?

Health education has seen a surge of interest in active learning strategies like the flipped classroom. In response to the need for physical distancing in the age of COVID-19, schools are rapidly shifting to web-based and video technology, sometimes without being able to predict the outcomes of this change. The objectives of this pilot experiment were to (1) compare active learning (AL) methods versus traditional lecture for transmitting and retaining knowledge in the introductory pre-clinical medical school curriculum and (2) weigh whether the costs required to flip instruction were justified by learning gains. The authors took a 2 h lecture for first-year medical students and converted half of it into an AL format. In-person lecture and active learning groups were compared in terms of student knowledge at pre-intervention, immediately post-intervention, and 6 months post-intervention. Costs for first-time delivery and anticipated costs for repeat delivery of each format were calculated. Students’ gains in knowledge increased in both groups, though more by lecture (control) than via AL. Delivering a single hour of new AL costs 3.4 times that of a new lecture. Repeat offerings of the AL intervention were estimated to cost 5.4 times that of the repeat lecture. The 1 h AL session was less effective than the 1 h lecture for knowledge acquisition and retention at 6-month follow-up. The AL was more expensive to produce and to repeat. Future research needs to evaluate the impact of AL with a larger N, control group, structured faculty/resident procedures, and assessment of gaining and applying attitudes and skills in addition to knowledge.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Dental Education: An Online Survey of Students' Perceptions and Attitudes.

Purpose: Dental education institutions worldwide experienced disruptive changes amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with a rapid switch to the online learning format. Thus, this study aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on dental education and evaluates the perceptions and attitudes of students towards the introduction of online learning in the School of Dental Medicine in Zagreb, Croatia. Methods: A survey was conducted on a population of undergraduate students. It was comprised of perceptions and attitudes of students on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their psychoemotional status, changes introduced in the educational system, and online learning in particular. Results: Of the 352 students that completed the survey, 66.2% of students reported being psychoemotionally affected by the lockdown. The most significant impact of the switch from in-person to online learning was observed in terms of missing contact with lecturers (60.3%) and peers (90.3%) and loss of practical courses, regarding which 65% of students agreed that they could not be compensated. While only 36.1% reported that online teaching fully met their expectations, the majority of the students (61.9%) agreed that online lectures were as valuable as in-person lectures and that the theoretical courses could be carried out online in the future as well (69.9%). Conclusions: Students reported relative satisfaction with changes in the learning format and a positive attitude towards online learning; however, several challenges and obstacles were identified.

494 Walk the Talk – Teaching Is Still Teaching – Just Expanding Your Tool Box

Beef Cattle Production & Management (ANSC 406) is a Texas A&M University “Communications” course and an elective in the undergraduate Animal Science curriculum. This course (3 hr lecture, 2 hr lab) is taught in Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters. The author has taught this (or equivalent) course since 1995, and various teaching technologies have incrementally crept into the course. Prior to COVID-19 restrictions, the class was taught traditionally through in-person lecture and lab meetings, with in-class, closed-note exams, and supported with online resources. Students are assigned to groups of 4 or 5 for semester-long work on a ranch management project with peer review comprising 20% of the grade. This report summarizes student exam grades and ranch project peer evaluations through semesters Fall 2019 to Fall 2020 where the class format was (1) traditional face-to-face (TF2F), (2) initially TF2F then switched abruptly to 100% remote/online, (3) 100% remote/online for the entire semester, and (4) a blended/hybrid format, respectively. Semester-to-semester exam grades and group member peer evaluations were compared through mixed model analyses of variance. There were no differences in exam grades (P > 0.10) across these semesters with the exception of Exam 3 that deviated 3.7% (P = 0.020) from lowest to highest mean scores. Relative exam grade variability (based on CV and range) remained almost constant from closed-book to open-note format. Remote vs. F2F status did not influence (P > 0.05) group peer evaluation scores regarding Q1: “Overall level of participation” or Q4: “Willingness to work for success of your group” when group number or student were included in statistical models. Model R-square values for Q1/Q4 increased from 0.037/0.050 to 0.161/0.171, and 0.424/0.457 when group, and student were added, respectively. Individual student perceptions and experiences appear to be major drivers of learning outcomes no matter the course delivery style.

Estimating the effect of timetabling decisions on the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in medium-to-large engineering schools in Canada: an agent-based modelling study.

Background:During the COVID-19 pandemic, universities transitioned to primarily online delivery, and it is important to understand what implications the transition back to in-person activities may have on spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the student population. The specific aim of our study was to provide insights into the effect of timetabling decisions on the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in a population of undergraduate engineering students.Methods:We developed an agent-based modelling simulation that used a Canadian first-year undergraduate engineering program with an enrolment of 180 students in 5 courses of 12.7 weeks in length. Each course involved 150 minutes of lectures and 110 minutes of tutorials or laboratories per week. We considered several online and in-person timetabling scenarios with different scheduling frequencies and section sizes, in combination with surveillance and testing interventions. The study was conducted from May 1 to Aug. 31, 2021.Results:When timetabling interventions were applied, we found a reduction in the mean number of students who were infected and that a containment of widespread outbreaks could be achieved. Timetables with online lectures and small (1/6 class capacity) tutorial or laboratory sections reduced the mean number of students who were infected by 83% and reduced the risk of large outbreaks that occurred with in-person lectures. We also found that spread of SARS-CoV-2 was less sensitive to class size than to contact frequency when a biweekly timetable was implemented (i.e., alternating online and in-person sections on a biweekly basis). Including a contact-tracing policy and randomized testing to the timetabling interventions helped to contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2 further. Vaccination coverage had the largest effect on reducing the number of students who were infected.Interpretation:Our modelling showed that by taking advantage of timetabling opportunities and applying appropriate interventions (contact tracing, randomized testing and vaccination), SARS-CoV-2 infections may be averted and disruptions (case isolations) reduced. However, given the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants, transitions from online to in-person classes should proceed cautiously from small biweekly classes, for example, to manage risk.

The Effectiveness of Augmented and Virtual Reality in the Education of Physical Therapy Students

<h3>Research Objectives</h3> To determine the effectiveness of augmented and virtual reality as a teaching modality on doctor of physical therapy students' learning as seen through confidence, recall, retention and application as compared to traditional teaching methods. <h3>Design</h3> Posttest only control group design with retrospective analysis. <h3>Setting</h3> Private secondary institution, doctoral physical therapy (DPT) program, American International College (AIC), Springfield, MA. <h3>Participants</h3> Convenience sample, 297 first year graduate DPT students enrolled in Gross Anatomy, AIC. Control group: 162 (cohorts 2017 & 2018); experimental group: 135 (cohorts 2019 & 2020). <h3>Interventions</h3> "Visible Body" (VB), augmented and virtual reality (VR) software used by experimental group; control group: attended traditional in-person lecture and laboratory classes. <h3>Main Outcome Measures</h3> Objective data scores (three lecture exams, Osteology Practical exam and Dissection lab exam) collected anonymously for each cohort, calculated by the primary course faculty. Subjective data (quantitative and qualitative) assessed through survey. <h3>Results</h3> Exam scores compared for three groups with different levels of exposure to VB (did not use VB (1), optional use VB (2), and required use VB (3)). Analyses (ANOVA and T-Tests) showed statistical significance with the mean performance for Group 1 being significantly lower than Groups 2 and 3. Osteology exam: No significant difference between groups noted. Dissection Exam: Group 3 scored significantly higher than the other groups. Survey data on the students' self-efficacy towards their ability to learn Gross Anatomy with the VB software proved to be statistically significant (95% CI). Researchers were blinded to all scores and surveys. <h3>Conclusions</h3> Positive correlation exists between grades and the use of the VB application, indicating that the use of VR is an effective resource for DPT students in learning Gross Anatomy. Additionally, VB may be an adequate substitute for cadaver lab for dissection, though aspects of quality and understanding of anatomical relationships may be diminished in the use of virtual software alone. Further research to substantiate these results and further analyze the benefits of VR as a superior resource for learning Gross Anatomy amongst DPT programs is necessary. <h3>Author(s) Disclosures</h3> No disclosures/conflicts.

Teaching information literacy concepts in pharmaceutics through video

Objective: The objective was to determine if online, asynchronous video content could be used to teach information literacy concepts successfully to pharmacy students in a pharmaceutics course. Method: An existing in-person lecture was transferred to a series of online videos. Students enrolled in the course who agreed to participate took a 13-question pre-test, watched videos, and completed the same post-test, along with a survey of their opinions towards the videos. Scores on each of the questions on the pre-and post-test changed positively and significantly. Students slightly preferred videos to in-person instruction. Result: The results suggest that asynchronous videos can be used to teach information literacy concepts to pharmacy students and this knowledge is retained for the duration of the course.

Bridging the preclinical-clinical divide in response to COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic posed unique challenges to educational institutions throughout the world, especially medical education programs. The usual demands of residency were heightened by increased patient volume and need for intensive care. Many hospitals, including Hackensack University Medical Center, enacted administrative changes including modifying staffing models to minimize disease exposure and remodeling hospital floors to increase the capacity of intensive care units. Many of these changes were enacted to allow for greater focus on patient care and social distancing, but they came at the expense of medical education, as traditional practices such as in-person lectures and participation in group clinical rounds were suspended to accommodate these changes. At a time when new information about SARS-CoV-2 and various treatment modalities was emerging rapidly, there was an urgent need for providing factual, relevant, concise educational materials to resident and attending physicians whose time was limited by the volume and urgency of COVID-19 patient care activities. This opened up an opportunity for students in our new medical school associated with the Hackensack Meridian Health network to provide this much needed informational resource. In March through June of 2020, first- and second-year students and medical science faculty at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine collaborated with resident and attending physicians at Hackensack University Medical Center via online web-conferencing. Each week, residents and attending physicians sent clinical questions to the medical school faculty that students would then research and convert into an educational presentation. The topics centered around actionable clinical queries. Students gathered relevant clinical studies and critically evaluated the methods, procedures, findings and conclusions of each report. Studies from hospitals and institutions around the world were emerging rapidly, most as preprints prior to peer-evaluation and often with a broad range of quality. Critical appraisal of data-gathering methods was essential to provide hospital staff with accurate information. Student presentations were supported by medical science faculty using standard evidence-based medicine methodology to ensure that a high-quality review had been conducted. After presentations concluded, residents and attendings posed further questions, reflected on what they were seeing clinically, and suggested new topics for discussion. This process allowed medical students to increase their skills in public speaking, critical appraising data and methodology, and presenting research in a concise, clear manner. These presentations also allowed frontline workers to receive up-to-date information in a setting of rapidly evolving knowledge of epidemiology, clinical presentation and disease management of COVID-19 patients. This innovative response to the pandemic provided a powerful opportunity to bridge medical education's preclinical-clinical divide. This example should serve as a prototype for sustained collaboration as different strains of SARS-CoV-2 emerge as a threat, as well as in post-pandemic times. This learning model can be applied to emerging diseases and is particularly useful for cutting-edge, novel research topics which significantly impact patient care.

International cross-sectional survey on the use of webinars in plastic surgery: a move towards a hybrid educational model.

BackgroundThe novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has catalyzed the development of online educational resources. Webinars provide opportunities for convenient distance-learning and provision of expert lectures, while reducing the financial and practical costs of attending conferences. This cross-sectional survey aims to collect subjective opinion on the usefulness of webinars as an educational platform compared to face-to-face interactions, and whether surgeons and surgeons-in-training want webinars to remain a permanent platform for training and development in the future.MethodsA free-to-attend online series of international expert lectures on a range of plastic surgery topics was delivered. Attendees were invited to anonymously complete a survey on attitudes towards webinars as an educational platform over a 2-week period.ResultsA total of 883 complete responses were collected. Overall webinar attendance increased following the pandemic, with 97.4% of respondents reporting they view webinars for at least 1 h per week following implementation of COVID-19 restrictions. 90.4% respondents indicated that they intend to continue utilizing webinars even once COVID-19 restrictions are eased, and 77.8% stated they learn as much from online webinars as in-person lectures. However, irrespective of training grade, a significant proportion of respondents believe webinars should not replace face-to-face meetings.ConclusionsThis study provides evidence that, while face-to-face meetings remain a valued component of education in Plastic Surgery, webinars are a useful adjunct to conventional methods, and may feature more prominently in the educational landscape of the future.Level of evidence: Not gradable.

Advanced Trauma Life Support Course Delivery: Comparison of Outcomes From Modifications During Covid-19.

IntroductionThe Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) Course is a two-day long medical training course developed by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) to help train and prepare healthcare providers to care for severely injured patients. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in the modification or cancellation of many education programs across the world. At the University of South Florida’s Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS) two different models of ATLS were delivered in response to the COVID-19 pandemic with both models utilizing the ACS’s online mobile ATLS (mATLS). In this study three different models of ATLS delivered by USF CAMLS between 2019 and 2020 were compared to determine if there were any impacts on the education and functionality of the ATLS course between the three different models of ATLS: a baseline ATLS course, an augmented ATLS course that used mATLS, and an ATLS course that used mATLS as a replacement for in-person lectures.Material and methodsTo compare the three models of ATLS delivery, a total of six ATLS courses were studied: a baseline face-to-face ATLS course from June 2019, two Mobile ATLS (mATLS) courses from September 2020, and three augmented ATLS courses that contained both face-to-face and mATLS delivery from October, November and December 2020. The only differences between the traditional ATLS courses from 2020 and the pre-COVID ATLS course from 2019 were that the courses from 2020 utilized mATLS and that the course days were longer due to cleaning time. These courses were selected to have a non-significant difference in the number of learners in each model of ATLS course. The data that were collected from these courses included: post-test results from learners, learner feedback surveys, and interviews with the ATLS Course Director, ATLS Course Coordinator, and the Educational Coordinator.ResultsThe only courses with significant differences in the post-test mean scores were for the baseline ATLS course compared to the mATLS courses. The augmented courses showed similar post-test performance to the mATLS courses. Students viewed the courses favorably with the only major complaint between the 2019 and the 2020 courses being a high amount of downtime for the 2020 courses due to time required to disinfect skill stations and equipment. The main difficulties for the ATLS Course Director, ATLS Course Coordinator, and the Educational Coordinator with the ATLS courses in 2020 were concerned with challenges from COVID-19, like social distancing, and not with mATLS or the shortened instruction time with the hybrid model.DiscussionThis preliminary study analyzed three delivery models of ATLS. The mATLS may be able to replace in-person lectures of ATLS courses as courses using alternative delivery formats showed post-test scores as good or better than the baseline face-to-face course.

The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Mobility-Related GHG Emissions of the University of Oldenburg and Proposals for Reductions

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many aspects of human life, including mobility. In a local context, the University of Oldenburg (Germany) suspended all in-person lectures and business trips in March 2020, affecting the energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the community. This paper presents the evaluation of emissions resulting from mobility associated with the University of Oldenburg before and after the COVID-19 restrictions, including commuting and business trips. Moreover, five scenarios targeting a reduction in emissions related to mobility are proposed and analyzed. The GHG emissions were calculated using specific emissions factors for each mode of transport, distance data obtained via a survey, and official university data. Overall, the results have revealed a substantial decrease in emissions in the summer semester 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The estimated GHG emissions reduction relative to the average emissions of the prior two semesters (pre-COVID-19) is 79% for commuting (equivalent to 1934 tCO2e), and 69% for business trips (equivalent to 888.6 tCO2e). Furthermore, the commuting emissions are 1.9 times higher than business trip emissions in summer and winter 2019, and 1.3 times higher in summer 2020. With respect to proposals for reductions, the most effective scenario for reducing GHG emissions considers a hybrid semester assuming one day a week without commuting, which is estimated to achieve a 15% emissions reduction relative to the baseline emissions. The paper thus shows the importance of commuting-related GHG emissions in a university higher education context as well as first approaches to reduce them. This study may be useful as a guidance for the University of Oldenburg in its efforts to reduce GHG emissions by providing a quantitative basis and scenarios for prioritizing and reducing mobility emissions. Beyond that, it provides comparative metrics for other institutions with similar characteristics.

Professional development during a pandemic: a live virtual conference for emergency medicine chief residents.

Limited professional development training exists for chief residents. The available training uses in-person lectures and workshops at annual national conferences. The COVID-19 pandemic prevented most in-person gatherings in 2020, including pivotal onboarding and training events for new chief residents. However, for the last five years, Academic Life in Emergency Medicine’s Chief Resident Incubator conducted year-long remote training programs, creating virtual communities of practice for chief residents in emergency medicine (EM). As prior leaders and alumni from the Incubator, we sought to respond to the limitations presented by the pandemic and create an onboarding event to provide foundational knowledge for incoming chief residents. We developed a half-day virtual conference, whereupon 219 EM chief residents enrolled. An effective professional development experience is feasible and scalable using online videoconferencing technologies, especially if constructed with content expertise, psychological safety, and production design in mind.

The flipped-classroom approach to teaching horizontal strabismus in ophthalmology residency: a multicentered randomized controlled study

The flipped-classroom involves watching prerecorded lectures at home followed by group learning exercises within the classroom. This study compares the flipped classroom approach with the traditional classroom for teaching horizontal strabismus didactics in ophthalmology residency. In this multicenter, randomized controlled survey study from October 2017 to July 2018, 110 ophthalmology residents were taught esotropia and exotropia sequentially, randomized by order and classroom style. Flipped classroom participants were assigned a preclass video lecture prior to the in-class case-based activity. The traditional classroom included a preparatory reading assignment and an in-person lecture. Residents completed three identical 5-question assessments (pretest, post-test, and 3-month retention) and surveys for each classroom. The primary outcome measured residents' preferences for classroom styles; the secondary outcome compared knowledge acquisition. In our study cohort, the flipped classroom resulted in greater at-home preparation than the traditional classroom (P=0.001) and was preferred by 33 of 53 residents (62%); 45 of 53 (85%) wished to see the flipped classroom used at least 25% of the time. The exotropia flipped classroom scored higher than traditional classroom on the pretest (3.71/5 [74%] vs 2.87/5 [57%]; P<0.001) and post-test (4.53/5 [91%] vs 4.13/5 [83%]; P=0.01) but not the 3-month retention test (3.53/5 [71%] vs 3.37/5 [67%]; P=0.48). The esotropia classroom styles did not differ on pre- or post-test but demonstrated higher scores for the traditional classroom at 3-month retention (3.43/5 [69%] vs 2.92/5 [58%]; P=0.03). Advantages cited for flipped classroom include being interactive and engaging while incentivizing better classroom preparation. The flipped classroom method was received favorably by trainees and may complement traditional methods of teaching.