ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has increased utilization of educational technology for surgical education. Our aim was to determine attitudes and behaviors of surgical education champions towards virtual educational platforms and learner engagement. METHODS: An electronic survey was distributed to all Association of Surgical Education members addressing i) methods of engagement in virtual learning ii) ways to improve engagement and iii) what influences engagement. Stratified analysis was used to evaluate differences in responses by age, gender, level of training and specialty. RESULTS: 154 ASE members completed the survey (13% response rate). 88% respondents accessed virtual learning events at home. Most (87%) had joined a virtual learning event and then participated in another activity. 1 in 5 who did this did so "always" or "often". Female respondents were more likely than males to join audio and then participate in another activity (62.3% v 37.7%, p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Virtual platforms do not automatically translate into increased learner engagement. Careful design of educational strategies is essential to increase and maintain learner engagement when utilizing virtual surgical education.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Pandemics , COVID-19/epidemiology , Female , Humans , Learning , MaleABSTRACT
Purpose: This study aimed to identify probable cases of nosocomial Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) among hospitalized solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients. Methods: All hospitalized SOT recipients diagnosed with COVID-19 by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from March 11, 2020 to August 24, 2020 were evaluated. Potential nosocomial cases included admissions where the first positive PCR occurred on hospital day 3 or later (intra-admission) or within 14 days of a previous hospital discharge (inter-admission). Two infectious disease specialists independently adjudicated all potential cases into four categories (definitely community-acquired, likely community-acquired, likely hospital-acquired, and definitely hospital-acquired) using systematic chart review of symptom onset, radiographic findings, and community risk factors. Discrepancies were resolved by a third investigator. Results: Of 132 hospitalized SOT recipients diagnosed with COVID-19, nosocomial infections were apparent in 19 (14%;Figure 1). Intra-admission cases (n=11, 4 likely hospital-acquired and 7 definitely hospital-acquired) were diagnosed a median (IQR) of 43 (8 to 53) days after admission. Inter-admission cases (n=8, all likely hospitalacquired) had 5 (3 to 10) days of hospital care in the 14 days preceding diagnosis. The proportion of COVID-19 infections classified as nosocomial varied by time from most recent transplant until diagnosis (P<0.001) and transplant type (P<0.001;Table 1). Probable nosocomial infections peaked in June and gradually declined. Conclusions: Despite infection control measures to sequester SOT recipients and their nurses on dedicated transplant floors and provide patients and healthcare workers with screening, COVID-19 may have been acquired during healthcare interactions in 14% of hospitalized SOT recipients diagnosed with COVID-19. Vaccination against COVID-19 for front-line healthcare workers is important for protection of SOT recipients.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated virtual education, but effects on learner engagement are unknown. We developed a virtual in-class engagement measure (VIEM) to assess learner engagement in online surgical education events. METHODS: Using the STROBE, an observer collected tool to document student engagement, as a template an ASE committee workgroup developed the VIEM. The VIEM had two parts: observer assessment and learner self-assessment of engagement. Trained observers collected engagement data from two institutions using the VIEM. Surgical attendings, fellows and residents were observed during virtual learning events. Educator attitudes towards online teaching were also assessed via survey. RESULTS: 22 events with 839 learners were observed. VIEM distinguished between sessions with low and high engagement. 20% of learners pretended to participate. Half of instructors were comfortable with virtual teaching, but only 1/3 believed was as effective as in-person. 2/3 of teachers believed video learners were more engaged than audio learners. CONCLUSIONS: Virtual platforms do not automatically translate into increased engagement. Standard tools such as VIEM may help with assessment of engagement during virtual education.