COVID-19 stories of success: Teaching and learning in a clinical setting during a pandemic

Abstract

Introduction:The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic halted inperson activities in universities and caused disruption in the usual iteration of the semesters. When the clinical environment resumed student placement, the potential health risks caused additional anxiety to the students and clinical faculty. This paper aims to examine the measures implemented to support the radiation therapy students during their first clinical placement during the COVID-19 pandemic. Background:The 2nd year radiation therapy students' first clinical placement was organized around pandemic restrictions that required new activities to support student safety and wellness. The clinical faculty team redesigned the clinical course to integrate enhanced communication, additional safety measures and mental wellness sessions, as well as making COVID-19 related resources available during the week-long orientation and throughout the semester.Methods: Registered students were asked to participate in a 9-item survey questionnaire to gather their perspective on the effectiveness of the orientation and clinical activities during the pandemic. The responses were tabulated and independently analyzed for emergent themes by the clinical faculty. Discussion:The students reported that the combination of activities, workshops, exposure to the treatment unit and feedback from both clinical faculty and learning mentors provided the support needed for physical safety and wellness in the clinic. Identified challenges included communication with continuous masking, the timeliness of communicating evolving clinical safety protocols, and the need for enhanced coordination of interprofessional education. Conclusion:The COVID-19 pandemic brought new challenges and opportunities for students and clinical faculty at the University of Alberta's Radiation Therapy department. The results of the quality improvement survey highlighted the importance and effectiveness of the redesigned clinical course, which integrated COVID-19 related activities, enhanced communication strategies, safety, wellness resources and check-ins throughout the course.

Towards describing the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on clinical radiography education: A systematic review

“…Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, staff only had to use the full PPE when they had a barrier nursed patient 47 . Students found the regular use of PPE uncomfortable, and it was a barrier to effectively communicating with patients 38 , 43 , 48 . This is similar to the findings of studies that assessed the opinion of other health professional trainees, as they also stated that communicating with patients and other colleagues was challenging in full PPE 49 .…”

Innovative strategies implemented by universities to support medical radiation science students during the COVID‐19 pandemic

“…8 Radiation therapy academics at the University of Alberta, Canada, introduced mental health sessions delivered by the university's psychologists and an expressive art therapy workshop, the aim of which was to provide an avenue for students to creatively reflect upon their placement experiences. 18 A novel initiative at the University of Otago, New Zealand, piloted a Peer Group Supervision tool for radiation therapy student support, finding it was beneficial with regard to student stress management, although required participant training for it to be effective. 19 As this study was conducted pre-pandemic, the use of innovative ways such as this one in providing student support is likely to be of even more importance with cohorts beyond 2020.…”