COVID-19 – A Covert Catalyst for Pedagogical Stocktake and Transformation: Perspectives of a Global Hub

Abstract

Education in Hong Kong was shifted online on an abrupt and massive scale as the city faced unprecedented disruptions, first from social unrest in 2019 and then again with the COVID-19 pandemic. Concurrent modernization initiatives since early 2019 in The University of Hong Kong's Medical Faculty (HKUMed), conferred a fortuitous head start for this rapid change. Pre-clinical and clinical teaching were restructured for online delivery through elearning solutions for didactic teaching, and new innovative approaches were developed to convert bedside to "webside" teaching. E-learning in the current circumstances provided necessary social distancing while being pedagogically sound. Students were also able to develop key communication and collaboration skills via online platforms, developing digital skills critical to their future profession. However, unforeseen issues including socioeconomic inequality, privacy concerns, and social isolation became apparent and should be addressed as medical education progresses further down the digital path. The goal must entail a sustainable and scholarly approach towards optimizing medical education in an increasingly online environment. This will help safeguard the medical curriculum against disruption and empower future medical professionals for tomorrow's practice. Here, we share experiences and perspectives from educators in a global city characterised by land scarcity and income inequality.

Medical teachers’ experience of emergency remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-institutional study

“…The outbreak of COVID-19 in Hong Kong in late January 2020 resulted in the suspension of all face-to-face teaching in the campus and teaching hospitals between January and September 2020. HKUMed experienced disruption to face-to-face teaching prior to the pandemic due to Hong Kong’s social unrests throughout 2019, which led to the suspension of all face-to-face teaching across all universities and schools in November 2019 [ 25 ].…”

“…Moreover, teaching activities such as small-group tutorials, practical classes, clinical skills demonstration and bedside teaching were mostly delivered face-to-face before the pandemic, especially for non-distance medical and healthcare education programs. However, teachers had little choice but to adapt these teaching activities to online delivery when face-to-face teaching was prohibited by infection control measures [ 25 – 29 ].…”

Multifactorial learning challenges in anatomy: What is the niche in current research?

“…We can use an e-platform with embedded technologies and tools and using learning analytics to track students' activities during their online engagement. Educators can benefit from learning analytics that charted students' engagement and usage (Khong et al, 2020). However, the data may not truly represent the full picture as students could have left the video playing while doing something else.…”

Twelve Tips for Re-imagining Problem-based Learning in Medical Education for the COVID-19 Era and Beyond

“…The current state of technology use within medical education has been described as one of over-utilisation ( Khong et al ., 2020 ). At this rate, continued reliance on online technology for much, if not all, of medical teaching appears unsustainable.…”