The COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on medical teaching in obstetrics and gynecology-A nationwide expert survey among teaching coordinators at German university hospitals.

PURPOSE: The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed severe challenges on medical education at German university hospitals. In this first German nationwide expert survey, we addressed the responsible university teaching coordinators in obstetrics and gynecology departments and investigated their experiences during the pandemic as well as their opinions on future developments, especially with regard to the broader implementation of e-learning in the standard curriculum. METHODS: The questionnaire included 42 items and was disseminated among teaching coordinators at all 41 departments of obstetrics and gynecology at German university hospitals via an email that included a weblink to the online survey provider. Responses were collected between 19 April and 7 June 2021. RESULTS: In total, 30 responses were collected from 41 departments across Germany and their respective teaching coordinators in obstetrics and gynecology. The general opinion of the medical teaching provided during the pandemic was positive, whereas the teaching quality in practical skills was considered inferior and not equivalent to the standard face-to-face curriculum. Lectures and seminars had to be substituted by remote-learning alternatives, while clinical clerkships were reduced in length and provided less patient contact. Students in their final year experienced only a few differences in the clinical and teaching routine. Teaching coordinators in obstetrics and gynecology stated that they intend to incorporate more e-learning into the curriculum in the future. CONCLUSION: The medical educators' views presented here may help to complement the already-thoroughly investigated experiences of students under the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Medical educators in obstetrics and gynecology at German university hospitals have successfully established online and hybrid teaching alternatives to their standard face-to-face courses. Building on recent experiences, digitalization could help to improve future medical education.

Experiences with alternative online lectures in medical education in obstetrics and gynecology during the COVID-19 pandemic-possible efficient and student-orientated models for the future?

PURPOSE: The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic posed an eminent challenge for medical teachers worldwide. Face-to-face lectures and seminars were no longer possible, and alternatives had to be found. E-learning concepts quickly emerged as the only practicable solutions and also offered the opportunity to evaluate whether traditional face-to-face lectures could be translated into an online format, independent of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: We offered an e-learning program consisting of lecture notes, screencasts with audio narration, and online webinars that covered topics normally taught in traditional lectures and seminars. To evaluate the learning behavior and quality of our e-learning program, we drafted a questionnaire that students completed at the end of the 2020 summer semester that had been designed to enable a comparative analysis of the different e-learning modules. RESULTS: Voluntary participation in the online courses was high. Survey analysis revealed high satisfaction with and a distinctive preference for the format, even under regular, COVID-19-independent conditions. In general, a positive appraisal of e-learning-especially as a substitute for regular lectures-was found. Students also reported higher studying efficiency. Exam results were equal to those of previous semesters. CONCLUSION: Both acceptance of and satisfaction with our e-learning modules were high, and students displayed increased demand for this kind of e-learning format. We, therefore, conclude that e-learning offerings could serve as reasonable, efficient, student-orientated substitutes for certain medical courses, especially lectures. These curricular adaptations would correlate with the high digitalization seen in students' everyday lives. This correlation may also hold true independent of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 vaccination in patients with breast cancer and gynecological malignancies: A German perspective.

INTRODUCTION: The side effects of systemic cancer therapy and the lack of clinical data on safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccination in cancer patients cause uncertainty among the patients about whether to get vaccinated or not. Here, we evaluated attitude towards and effects of COVID-19 vaccination in patients with breast and gynecological cancer undergoing systemic cancer therapy. METHODS: Since March 15th, 2021, cancer patients who received one of the approved COVID-19 vaccines were routinely interviewed about immediate and late side effects. Clinical parameters such as current therapy, time interval between therapy administration and vaccination, and changes in the therapy schedule due to vaccination were documented. The collected data were analyzed de-identified as a part of routine quality assurance. RESULTS: By July 27th, 2021, 218 patients (74.3% breast cancer patients) had received one of two COVID-19 vaccine doses, and 112 patients had received both doses: 77.5% received Conmirnaty (BioNTech/Pfizer), 16.1% Vaxzevria (Astra Zeneca) and 5.9% COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna. The COVID-19 vaccines had an acceptable safety profile with self-limiting local and systemic adverse events, which rarely lasted >48 h post vaccination. Symptoms occurred predominantly after the second dose of the vaccine and less frequently in older patients >55 years. No vaccine-related serious adverse events were reported, and only limited effects of vaccination on the therapy schedule were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Breast and gynecologic cancer patients tolerate the COVID-19 vaccination while undergoing systemic cancer therapy without any additional side effects beyond those reported in the general population.