ABSTRACT
Introduction: Supporting educators has been identified as vital for the efficacy and sustainability of online teaching. The teaching of clinical skills online presents additional challenges given the vast shift from traditional pedagogies. However, the support needs of health professional educators to teach clinical skills online are unknown. The aim of this study was to explore educator experiences of teaching clinical skills online and investigate their workplace support needs. Methods: A qualitative approach using focus groups was used to investigate educator experiences at three universities in Australia, Chile and South Africa. Data were subject to thematic analysis, and a thematic network tool was used to triangulate international experiences. Results: Seven focus groups were undertaken, with a total of 32 participants. Four global themes were identified following analysis: 1) the educator experience, 2) changes to pedagogy, 3) challenges to teaching online and 4) support for educators. Conclusions: This study has highlighted the professional challenges that teaching clinical skills online creates for health professional educators and the uncertainty regarding expectations and outcomes. Enhancing university support for educators to prepare and provide clinical skills teaching online is suggested to mitigate these challenges. Recommendations are made for universities and educators to consider in the pursuit of effective and sustainable teaching of clinical skills online.
ABSTRACT
We present here a bead-based immunoassay which provides a sensitive direct electronic readout without the use of any intermediate optics. Analyte binding to antigen-coated microparticles is converted to probe-directed enzymatically amplified silver metallization on microparticle surfaces. The microparticles are then characterized in a high-throughput manner via electrical impedance spectra captured as they flow through a 3-D printed plastic micro-aperture. Metallized microparticles are found to have unique impedance signatures. This enables an electronic readout of the silver metallization density on microparticle surfaces and hence analyte concentration as well. Here we use this scheme to measure the antibody response to the viral nucleocapsid protein in convalescent COVID-19 patient serum. © 2021 MicroTAS 2021 - 25th International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences. All rights reserved.