ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has stunted medical education activities, resulting in most conferences being cancelled or postponed. To continue professional education during this crisis, web-based conferences can be conducted via livestream and an audience interaction platform as an alternative. OBJECTIVE: The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has affected human connections worldwide. Conventional conferences have been replaced by web-based conferences. However, web-based conferencing has its challenges and limitations. This paper reports the logistics and preparations required for converting an international, on-site, multidisciplinary conference into a completely web-based conference within 3 weeks during the pandemic. METHODS: The program was revised, and a teleconference system, live recording system, director system setup, and broadcasting platform were arranged to conduct the web-based conference. RESULTS: We used YouTube (Alphabet Inc) and WeChat (Tencent Holdings Limited) for the web-based conference. Of the 24 hours of the conventional conference, 21.5 hours (90%) were retained in the web-based conference via live broadcasting. The conference was attended by 71% (37/52) of the original international faculties and 71% (27/38) of the overall faculties. In total, 61 out of 66 presentations (92%) were delivered. A special session-"Dialysis access management under the impact of viral epidemics"-was added to replace precongress workshops and competitions. The conference received 1810, 1452, and 1008 visits on YouTube and 6777, 4623, and 3100 visits on WeChat on conference days 1, 2, and 3, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Switching from a conventional on-site conference to a completely web-based format within a short period is a feasible method for maintaining professional education in a socially responsible manner during a pandemic.
ABSTRACT
Introduction:Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a pandemic with millions of contagions all over the world. However, as of June 2020, relatively few indigenous cases have been identified in Taiwan.Case Presentation:A 34-year-old man presented to our emergency department with progressive rhinorrhoea, a sore throat, and recent travel to the United States (Texas) and Mexico. He was diagnosed with COVID-19 after a positive throat swab test. Even though he was not initially isolated, there was no cluster of infection identified after epidemiological investigation.Discussion:This case demonstrates Taiwan?s unique epidemic prevention strategy, including the utilization of face masks, compact screening indications, quarantine arrangements, and the effective disposition of confirmed cases.Conclusion:In addition to managing various emergent conditions, emergency physicians should prepare epidemic prevention strategies as soon as possible and provide frontline suggestions.