ABSTRACT
For all, 2020 was beyond extra ordinary. While at the start of 2020 much of the world was transfixed on Donald Trump and the upcoming 2020 presidential election in the United States, a virus began emerging in China. In the early months of 2020, the term's coronavirus or COVID-19, would become too familiar and by March 2020 as the world faced the first major Pandemic since the Spanish Flu outbreak in 1918. In the U.S., the reactions and beliefs about the ferocity of the virus and the mitigation strategies to halt the spread became deeply entangled in the nation's already highly partisan political divides. This chapter will focus on the impacts of COVID-19 on the 2020 presidential election. Specifically, this chapter will provide a temporal and spatial representation of COVID-19 on the 2020 election cycle from the presidential primaries, to the presidential campaigns, the November 3, 2020 election, and ending with the January 20, 2021 inauguration of newly elected President Joe Biden. It was clear, after the election distinct spatial patterns between COVID-19 rates and partisan preference were identifiable. In general, higher rates of COVID-19 correlated with higher support for Donald Trump. Maps and statistical analyses complement the investigation of a uniquely intertwined political geography between the spread of COVID-19 and American electoral politics. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.
ABSTRACT
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted specialist training particularly in the area of assessments. Large-scale high-stakes face-to-face exams have been especially vulnerable to disruptions and required rapid adaptation. The Objective Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE) was especially challenging during lockdowns, travel and density restrictions and required the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) to introduce alternatives. After delivering successful small-scale AV-OSCEs in November 2020 and April 2021 and a multi-site OSCE in July 2021, the College introduced an Alternative Assessment Pathway after the exam cancellation in November 2021. Objectives: To discuss the future of assessments in the RANZCP's competency-based training program beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Panel members will discuss: the theoretical underpinning to contemporary competency-based curricula including assessment;the new Australian Medical Council and Medical Council of New Zealand standards including increased emphasis on assessment in the workplace;and programs of assessment through the continuum of training. Findings: The Alternative Assessment Pathway (AAP) was co-designed with trainees and Specialist International Medical Graduates and this symposium provides an important opportunity to engage with the broader membership on the future of the College's overall assessment program. The panel will share what has been learnt from the AAP, what can be learnt from our links to international experts and strategic options for the assessment program. Conclusions: The audience should leave with an understanding of the principles under which decisionmaking is being taken and initial plans for assessments as part of the College's collaborative approach in developing its assessment strategy.