Medical studies in times of a pandemic - concepts of digital teaching for Orthopaedics and Trauma at german universities.

BACKGROUND: Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, on-site classroom teaching became limited at most German medical universities. This caused a sudden demand for digital teaching concepts. How the transfer from classroom to digital teaching or digitally assisted teaching was conducted was decided by each university and/or department individually. As a surgical discipline, Orthopaedics and Trauma have a particular focus on hands-on teaching as well as direct contact to patients. Therefore, specific challenges in designing digital teaching concepts were expected to arise. Aim of this study was to evaluate medical teaching at German universities one year into the pandemic as well as to identify potentials and pitfalls in order to develop possible optimization approaches. METHODS: A questionnaire with 17 items was designed and sent to the professors in charge of organising the teaching in Orthopaedics and Trauma at each medical university. A differentiation between Orthopaedics and Trauma was not made to allow a general overview. We collected the answers and conducted a qualitative analysis. RESULTS: We received 24 replies. Each university reported a substantial reduction of their classroom teaching and efforts to transfer their teaching to digital formats. Three sites were able to switch to digital teaching concepts completely, whereas others tried to enable classroom and bedside teaching at least for students of higher edcuational levels. The online platforms used varied depending on the university as well as the format it was supposed to support. CONCLUSION: One year into the pandemic significant differences concerning the proportions of classroom and digital teaching for Orthopaedics and Trauma can be observed. Simultaneously huge differences in concepts used to create digital teaching are present. Since a complete suspense of classroom teaching was never mandatory, several universities developed hygiene concepts to enable hands-on and bedside teaching. Despite these differences, some similarities were observed: the lack of time and personnel to generate adequate teaching material was reported as the leading challenge by all participants of this study.

Experience with an OSCE anamnesis station via Zoom: Feasibility, acceptance and challenges from the perspective of students, simulated patients and examiners during the COVID-19 pandemic Erfahrungen mit einer OSCE-Station Anamnese via Zoom: Machbarkeit, Akzeptanz und Herausforderungen aus Sicht von Studierenden, Simulationspatient*innen und Prüfenden während der COVID-19-Pandemie

Aim: Assessments of practical clinical competencies pose a challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reports about OSCE stations administered online show that, despite technical feasibility and acceptance, there is a lingering desire for in-person assessments. Barriers and challenges must therefore also be identified in regard to the future integration of digital competencies into the curriculum. Based on a study investigating the feasibility and acceptance of an online OSCE anamnesis station and the descriptions given by students, simulated patients and examiners of the challenges and limitations, we make recommendations for necessary future adaptations to anamnesis training and testing in the context of telemedicine. Method: We surveyed students after completion of an OSCE anamnesis station, adapted to the telemedical setting, that was administered as an alternative assessment to 149 students via Zoom®. Using semi-structured interviews, we analyzed the resulting challenges and limitations as seen by all of the participants. Results: We confirm the existence of good technical and organizational feasibility, positive learning experiences through feedback, the acquisition of clinical competencies, and a high acceptance of this format as an alternative assessment during the pandemic. Using the semi-structured interviews, it was also possible to analyze additional categories that identify necessary adaptations of this type of format. Conclusion: Adaptation of the content-based training for all of the participants and a targeted revision of the checklists, e.g., regarding communication techniques in a telemedicine setting, is required due to the effects of the online format on communication and interactions between students and simulated patients.

Experience with an OSCE anamnesis station via Zoom: Feasibility, acceptance and challenges from the perspective of students, simulated patients and examiners during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Aim: Assessments of practical clinical competencies pose a challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reports about OSCE stations administered online show that, despite technical feasibility and acceptance, there is a lingering desire for in-person assessments. Barriers and challenges must therefore also be identified in regard to the future integration of digital competencies into the curriculum. Based on a study investigating the feasibility and acceptance of an online OSCE anamnesis station and the descriptions given by students, simulated patients and examiners of the challenges and limitations, we make recommendations for necessary future adaptations to anamnesis training and testing in the context of telemedicine. Method: We surveyed students after completion of an OSCE anamnesis station, adapted to the telemedical setting, that was administered as an alternative assessment to 149 students via Zoom^®. Using semi-structured interviews, we analyzed the resulting challenges and limitations as seen by all of the participants. Results: We confirm the existence of good technical and organizational feasibility, positive learning experiences through feedback, the acquisition of clinical competencies, and a high acceptance of this format as an alternative assessment during the pandemic. Using the semi-structured interviews, it was also possible to analyze additional categories that identify necessary adaptations of this type of format. Conclusion: Adaptation of the content-based training for all of the participants and a targeted revision of the checklists, e.g., regarding communication techniques in a telemedicine setting, is required due to the effects of the online format on communication and interactions between students and simulated patients.

Are medical students equipped for digital studies?Have their hopes and fears been confirmed during Covid-19? What should we consider in the future?

Digitisation in the education of future doctors was still in its infancy before the Covid pandemic. For the successful implementation of digital teaching, students need the technical equipment and the necessary skills to use it in a meaningful way. Furthermore, it requires a willingness to adapt the learning environment and to take responsibility for self-directed learning. At the beginning of 2020, faculties were forced to convert all teaching to digital formats. Initial research shows that students prefer face-to-face teaching. To determine whether medical students were prepared for digital studies and what should be considered for the future, we analysed surveys at the beginning of online studies and after two Corona semesters at a medical faculty. We were able to show that although our students had good technology equipment, they had a rather negative attitude towards online teaching for various reasons and developed negative emotions. Deficits in design of educational material, and personal learning habits raised concern. A lack of guidance and a lack of interaction with fellow students contributed to this. Adjustments in these areas will be necessary in the future to provide students with positive access to digital studies and thus increase learning success.