COVID Challenges and Opportunities for Health Professions Education Programs: A Community Response?

• In Event: Reimagining and Reinventing Health Professions Education in COVID's Environment: Moving From Crisis to Opportunity

Abstract

Objectives or purposes
The Center for Health Professions Education (C-HPE) at University X has a online graduate program which has run successfully for the past 4 years. In addition, the Center also leads the Distance Learning Lab (DLL) for the School of Medicine (SOM). The DLL works with SOM faculty to transition courses to an online format. Certificate programs in Global Health and Tropical Medicine had moved some of courses online. However, the SOM curriculum remained face-to-face.

With the advent of COVID-19, the SOM pivoted from traditional face-to-face instruction to remote teaching. Faculty and administrators developed strategies to offer their courses online. During this process, it became clear that faculty needed to be trained on best practices in online instruction and in technologies that could support their online teaching. The DLL, staffed by HPE professionals, offered workshops and training to assist faculty in moving their courses online.

In this emergency scenario, it was necessary to identify and focus training on the immediate needs of faculty. Informal needs assessment was conducted. This presentation will discuss findings regarding the immediate needs of medical school faculty as they transition to online teaching and the workshops that were designed to support this effort.

Perspective(s) or theoretical framework
Adult learners appreciate learning that is self-directed and applicable to their lives. Identifying topics that would be relevant and applicable to faculty as they transitioned online required a targeted needs assessment. These two lenses framed the design of the workshops and the resources provided.

Methods, techniques and data sources
The targeted needs assessment began with an Open House by the DLL. SOM faculty were invited to bring questions and DLL faculty provided one-to-one sessions to address the questions raised. All questions and topics raised were documented. Attendance at workshops were recorded in addition to individual faculty inquiries that were received. All data were recorded on a Google Sheet and analyzed weekly to study trends and assess needs.

Results and/or substantiated conclusions
Data analysis revealed that in the first three weeks following the transition to online instruction, faculty wanted training in the use of videoconferencing technologies as they conducted group discussions online. The eight weeks following that showed a steadily increasing need for training on recording lectures and best practices for offering lectures online. A need for training on using the Learning Management Platform (LMS) was also observed but this still remains a small number. This pattern has been repeated by faculty teaching different modules.

Scientific or scholarly significance of the study or work
When faculty transition to online teaching, common assumptions are that faculty would need training on the LMS; they would require assistance with moving their lectures to an online format; and, they would appreciate ideas for best practices. While these assumptions were true in general, they were not applicable when faculty needed to immediately move their courses online. This study shows that in times of emergency, we need to triage the training we provide and address immediate needs followed by the less urgent issues.

Authors

• Anita Samuel, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

• Ronald M. Cervero, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences