Developing patient-refined colorectal cancer screening materials: application of a virtual community engagement approach

INTRODUCTION

In partnership with a federally qualified health center (FQHC), an adapted virtual version of boot camp translation (BCT) was used to elicit input from Spanish-speaking Latino patients and staff to develop messaging and patient education materials for follow-up colonoscopy after abnormal fecal testing. We describe how we adapted an existing in-person BCT process to be delivered virtually and present evaluations from participants on the virtual format.

METHODS

Three virtual BCT sessions were facilitated by bilingual staff and conducted via Zoom. These sessions included introductions and discussions on colorectal cancer (CRC), CRC screening, and gathered feedback from participants on draft materials. Ten adults were recruited from the FQHC. A research team member from the FQHC served as the point of contact (POC) for all participants and offered Zoom introductory sessions and/or technology support before and during the sessions. Following the third session, participants were invited to complete an evaluation form about their virtual BCT experience. Using a 5-point Likert Scale (where 5 = strongly agree), questions focused on session utility, group comfort level, session pacing, and overall sense of accomplishment.

RESULTS

Average scores ranged from 4.3 to 5.0 indicating strong support towards the virtual BCT sessions. Additionally, our study emphasized the importance of a POC to provide technical support to participants throughout the process. Using this approach, we successfully incorporated feedback from participants to design culturally relevant materials to promote follow-up colonoscopy.

CONCLUSION

We recommend ongoing public health emphasis on the use of virtual platforms for community engaged work.

Implementation of a skills-based virtual communication curriculum for medical students interested in surgery

Background

Communication skills are essential to providing patient-centered care. The need for standardized communication skills training is at the forefront of medical school and residency education. We aimed to design and implement a curriculum teaching virtual communications skills to medical students. The purpose of this report is to describe our experience and to offer guidance for training programs developing similar curricula in the future.

Methods

The curriculum was presented in weekly modules over 5 weeks using Zoom technology. We focused on proven strategies for interacting with patients and other providers, adapted to a virtual platform. Skill levels during role-play were assessed by the Simulated Participants and students observing the simulation using the 14-item, physician specific Communication Assessment Tool (CAT). The primary outcome of the CAT is the percentage of "excellent" for each item ranked both years. Participants provided feedback on what worked well or how the module could be improved in open-ended responses.

Results

Twenty-eight and 25 students registered for the course in Year 1 and Year 2, respectively. Students' post-session confidence in their ability to perform target skills was statistically higher than their pre-session scores in most sessions. Modules with the lowest pre-session confidence for both years were "Disclosing a Medical Error" and "Responding to Patient Bias." The mean percentage of students receiving "excellent" scores on individual CAT items ranged from 5 to 73% over the course of both years. Verbal and written feedback in Year 1 provided direction for the curriculum developers to improve the course in Year 2.

Conclusions

Developing and implementing a new education curriculum is a complex process. We describe an intensive curriculum for medical students as we strive to allow students extra "clinical" time during COVID-related restriction. We believe continued focus on patient and family communication skills will enhance patient care.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s44186-022-00054-9.

Factors influencing undergraduate education in an expanding virtual world during COVID-19

Moving to a virtual platform can introduce barriers beyond access and stability of technology, which may influence students' academic performance. The aim of this study was to identify factors, both personal and technology-related, that students and faculty perceived as contributors to academic performance. Enrolled students and teaching faculty in the Bachelor of Science programs at Rush University were surveyed. Analysis of survey results indicated that mental health and finances hindered students' performance, whereas faculty reported that technology accessibility and stability was the greatest contributor to students' performance. Both groups reported that at-home learning environment contributed to students' academic performance. These results provided insight into factors that impact student academic performance, allowing for appropriate changes to courses and overall curriculum to ensure undergraduates' learning and retention of course material.

A scoping review on adaptations of clinical education for medical students during COVID-19

Rapid advances in clinical education in response to the COVID-19 pandemic are taking place globally. This scoping review updated the educational strategies which could be applied by clinical educators in their practice to effectively maintain clinical attachment programs for medical students amidst public health crises. Almost all elements of clinical teaching were deliverable, whether it was online, onsite, virtual or blended, their educational effectiveness should be further examined. Increase in the number of telemedicine related publications were remarkable, and they could serve as a scalable model for future educational programs to be incorporated into the medical student curricula.

Utility of Virtual Platform for Conducting Practical Examination for Medical Students During Covid Times: A Prospective Study from Gynaecology Department

Background

As the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) continues its pandemic surge globally along with its social distancing norms, the physical conduction of practical examinations for medical graduates and postgraduates has become difficult. Software-based systems and social media platforms could provide alternatives for ensuring regular medical education and exam-oriented assessments. In this context, we evaluated our own experience with virtual conduction of semester practical exams for medical graduates.

Material and Methods

This prospective study was conducted in Gynaecology and Obstetrics department. We employed live streaming educational video conferencing software for virtual consultation between medical students, patients (case presentations), internal and external examiners. The outcomes were evaluated in terms of conduction of various components of practical examination-Viva, case presentations, instruments, slides, specimen examination. Statistical analysis was performed by descriptive statistics through Microsoft Excel sheet.

Results

Virtual conduction examination/evaluation was performed on 150 medical students by examiners from a distant location. No problems occurred except few short duration (less than 5 min) interruptions due to internet connectivity issues. 125/150 (83.5%) of medical students and all examiners (2 internal and 2 external) expressed satisfaction with virtual medical evaluation.

Conclusions

83.5% of medical students and all examiners expressed satisfaction with virtual medical evaluation during this COVID pandemic. Our findings suggest that virtual conduction of practical annual medical exams through virtual video conferencing platform appears to be an optimal alternative during COVID pandemic.

Underlying the triple burden effects on women educationists due to COVID-19

COVID-19 causes a pandemic situation that increased the paid or unpaid responsibilities (home and job) on women and brought significant changes in their lifestyle, resulting in psychological and emotional stress. This paper draws attention to the triple burden on the women during this time when certain roles are supposed to be performed by the women regardless she is employed or homemaker. The paper highlights the challenges faced by women educationists in making themselves comfortable with the work-life balance with emerging challenges such as new technology-based innovative teaching methods and various learning software's, apps, platforms, etc.. The paper employs in-depth interviews of teachers belonging to three categories i.e. primary, secondary, and higher education. The findings reported that female teachers agreed that pandemic had affected their daily life schedule. This leaves a deep effect on their mental and psychological health due to multiple attentions they pay towards home management, child & elders extra care, challenges due to work from home pattern of organizations, increased attention to students due to online teaching, etc. The paper presents the implications for the society and government to understand the women's pressure so that a happy and satisfied life is there for all with no gender discrimination.

COVID-19 Impact on Modern Virtual Pathology Education: Challenges and Opportunities

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE

Pathology education conventional methods have been disrupted by the Corona-Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, compelling a re-evaluation of the means of educational interactions from the undergraduate to the postgraduate level. This commentary explores how the COVID-19 outbreak has challenged pathology education.

METHODS

We reviewed the current challenges and determined the potential implications of virtual technologies on modern pathology education for the future of pathology competency learning and assessment.

RESULTS & CONCLUSION

The challenges are partly due to transferring from in-person teaching to a virtual education. Other reasons are shifting away from discipline-based teaching to organ-system based in medical curriculum and additional pressures on pathology faculties, such as increased demand for pathology services, lack of time, and learning resources. Keeping the national standards in pathology education even in the constant disruptions from pandemic outbreaks are current challenges. Pathology expertise will need to use emergent technologies in providing educational material to ensure quality pathology education. However, virtualization of pathology education produces a value of digital pathology and web-based pathology training materials. Medical students could review clinical cases remotely with their supervisors and gain the pathology competencies necessary for clinical practice. We need new innovative strategies, and we suggested the following steps to take advantage of the current opportunity to meet the challenges: evaluating the available digital training materials for formal pathology education, investing in the virtual infrastructure for competency-based pathology education, expanding student/residents exposure to pathology educational cases through virtual platforms; applying digital pathology solutions for virtual pathology education.