Deep Learning at a Distance: Remotely Working to Surveil Sharks

In the months following the novel Coronavirus pandemic outbreak, the world has seen an immediate and unprecedented global shift towards remote learning and working. In the academic field, it has fundamentally shifted how the process of learning happens. Throughout the summer of 2020, we experienced how doing research remotely affects the complicated dynamics of working in a cross-disciplinary team. Our project centered around utilizing machine learning technologies to detect sharks in videos taken from drones, as well as a few possible applications of this technology. A project of this nature demands resources for high-performance computing, large amounts of quality data, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Acquiring and using all of these resources, led to creative solutions and workflows that we feel would be beneficial to future groups willing to do similar projects remotely. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2021

Experiences and perceptions from non-internal medicine clinicians deployed to COVID-19 units

IntroductionWhen New York City became an epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers from an array of specialties were deployed to work on general medicine units with limited time for clinical retraining.ObjectivesThis study assesses the subjective experience and perceived preparedness of a cohort of non-internal medicine clinicians who were deployed to assist with inpatient management of patients with COVID-19 in the Spring of 2020.MethodsAn online survey was distributed to clinicians (residents, fellows, attendings, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants) who cared for patients in roles outside their usual specialties during the pandemic at the Montefiore Health System in the Bronx, NY.Results85/169 (50.3%) clinicians responded. 16.5% reported strong feelings of preparedness prior to deployment (≥7/10 Likert scale). ‘Access to appropriate and efficient review materials prior to deployment’ was ranked as 6/10, overall level of stress as 8/10 and concern for contracting COVID-19 while deployed as 8/10. Responses regarding ‘general feelings of preparedness’ had a weak negative association with ‘feelings of frustration about one’s circumstance’ (r= -0.39, p<0.001). Weak negative associations were found between feelings of ‘access to adequate review materials’ and ‘overall stress levels’ (r= -0.31, p<0.001). A moderate positive association was found between ‘feelings of access to adequate review materials’ and ‘feeling on top of one’s work responsibilities’ (r= 0.40, p< 0.001).ConclusionsThe majority of respondents did not feel adequately prepared to care for patients with COVID-19 prior to deployment and had both high stress levels and fear of contracting COVID-19 in the first wave of the pandemic.DisclosureNo significant relationships.