Key components of effective remote engineering work: Factors learned in school and on the job - Study motivation, design, and preliminary results

This Research Work-in-Progress Paper focuses on the change in collaboration practices within engineering and design (E&D) teams caused by COVID. A mixed-methods research approach was used. A survey designed to examine the long-term educational impact of an in-depth mechatronics graduate-level course sequence on its alumni was supplemented with Likert-scale and open-ended questions asking participants about the impact of COVID on their work mode and work satisfaction. The survey was administered in September 2021 and served as a filter to determine an interview sample. A literature review identifies leadership as an important factor in increasing team collaboration efficiency among virtual E&D teams. We identified and interviewed nine of the alumni who are currently leading E&D teams. Our goal is to identify skills those leaders acquired during their course experience that were particularly valuable for navigating the transition to remote collaboration. Furthermore, skills that have been critical for successful collaboration but were not learned during the course will also be identified. We then aim to derive practical implications for E&D course teaching teams on how to better prepare future E&D team leaders for remote collaboration. This Work-in-Progress paper focuses on our study motivation, design and preliminary results. © 2022 IEEE.

Implementation of telemedicine-based pediatric genetics care at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated an unprecedented increase in the use of telemedicine, the distribution of healthcare services using communication technology which allows for physical separation of the patient and provider. In Pediatric Genetics, there has been a longstanding interest in implementing telemedicine-based care to increase access to diagnostic testing, patient counseling and medical management of rare inherited diseases. In response to COVID-19, the Division of Human Genetics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia rapidly transitioned to telemedicine-based care. Objective/Aim:We sought to understand howthe use of telemedicine affected medical care for patients with suspected or confirmed genetic conditions. In addition to assessing the immediate impact of telemedicine on Pediatric Genetics care, we asked if this new care model could provide long-term benefit in increasing our effectiveness and efficiency, improving patient outcomes and reducing healthcare disparities. Methods:We initiated a quality improvement project to evaluate the utility of telemedicine pre-pandemic and during the pandemic. This included 3869 outpatient encounters in the Division of Human Genetics from March 1, 2020 to November 30, 2020 and 3228 outpatient encounters from the same time period in 2019. Visit types, diagnosis codes, patient demographics and laboratory procedure codes were pulled from Epic, and patient satisfaction was assessed using Press Ganey scores. This project was undertaken as a Quality Improvement Initiative and as such does not constitute human subjects research. Results: Of the encounters in 2020, 75% (n = 2895) were virtual, compared to 3% (n = 81) of the encounters in 2019. Using primarily telemedicine-based appointments in 2020, we saw nearly 20% more patients than were seen using primarily in-person appointments in the same time period in 2019. Genetic counselor-only appointments more than doubled, with 312 encounters (8% of all appointments) in 2020, and 149 encounters (5% of all appointments) in 2019. The distribution of visit types was similar in both time periods, with new patient appointments comprising 56% of appointments in 2020 compared to 53% in 2019, and follow-up appointments comprising 44% of appointments in 2020 compared to 47% in 2019. Press Ganey scores indicated improved rates of overall patient satisfaction (84.3% in 2020 vs. 80.1% in 2019) as well as satisfaction with access (76.0% in 2020 vs. 62.1% in 2019) and moving through the visit (67.7% in 2020 vs. 56.4% in 2019). Conclusion: The Division of Human Genetics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia seamlessly transitioned to telemedicine in the midst of a global pandemic. Using telemedicine, there was increased patient access and patient satisfaction. Long-term use of telemedicine may result in increased access to care and improved efficiency in care delivery.

Confronting a Double Pandemic of COVID-19 and Racial Injustice: Identifying Opportunities for Redesign and Reinvention

This is the high-level story of the Mechanical Engineering (ME) department at Stanford University in three parts: The abrupt change at the end of our Winter Quarter (March 2020), the transition to a fully online Spring Quarter (April-June 2020), and the overdue confrontation of racial injustice (June 2020-present). Told from the perspective of one faculty member, it highlights that the need for Teaching Communities has never been more acute, as educators are challenged to create online courses that are engaging and inclusive—and represent compassionate education. © 2020