Working from home during COVID-19 Lockdown: Changing Competencies and work-home life Boundaries

Crisis situations often introduces drastic lifestyle changes. This study is focused on the COVID-19 pandemic and aims to shed light on an unprecedented context of forcing employees to work from home with a short notice of companies and the government. The goal is three-fold: i) to understand the extent to which employees were indeed prepared to work from home;ii) to uncover the most important competencies that enabled employees to deal better with a crisis situation, such as the COVID-19 pandemic;and iii) to discuss the real impact that working from home had in the employees' lives during the pandemic situation and the quarantine period. Using narrative inquiry, this study explores the experiences of 18 young adult consultants working in different business areas, in Portugal. Semi-structure interviews were conducting during the third wave (12/2020 - 03/2021) and thematic analysis was used to analysis the transcripts. The analysis revealed three main themes: 'management competencies', 'work-life balance' and 'work flexibility'. Each theme consisted of several subthemes which illustrates how the participants perceived working from home and the factors that reflect their experiences and understanding. The research findings illustrate that interpersonal communication, anxiety and stress management, time management, and e-leadership are vital skills to cause a great impact on participants' productivity and well-being at work. Participants all appeared to notice that working from home provides a better work-life balance (e.g. saving time on daily commute) and more flexibility with regards to the work schedule and home commitments. Nonetheless, their experiences of home working depend on the personal situation, personality and the perceived management support offered during the COVID-19 lockdown. The research highlights a need to train employees on soft skills and prepare them to future crisis situations. Theoretical implications suggest that academics should expand research and interventions to include not only the work environment but also other external factors that affect employees. The limitations of the study and recommendations for future research are suggested. © 2022 Authors. All rights reserved.

Tips for Virtual Meeting Engagement: An OD Coaching Strategy

The authors present this article as a blend of facts and the authors' experiences since little is currently known about interactions within the virtual world. Employees are finding that virtual meetings occur too often. In most cases, they are uninteresting and lack engagement for the participants. These combined factors lead to virtual meeting burnout and participants' multitasking instead of involvement. Continuous virtual meetings cause stress and, subsequently, other health issues;this article is a call to OD practitioners to help develop techniques to alleviate these issues. Engagement may be the solution to lessening these virtual meeting problems. The first part of the article describes what we know about virtual meetings. The last part of the article gives specific coaching directions for your clients in ways that they can increase engagement in a variety of meetings. Virtual meetings will remain in our lives and may be one of the major ways people communicate with each other. Organization development professionals in the past were the ones that increased the effectiveness and human potential of in-person meetings through the development of techniques and research. Because virtual meetings happen daily, there is a belief that we know a great deal about this form of interaction, but there is little research confirming this belief. We provide some next steps for organization development consultants and scholar-practitioners to start thinking creatively about this media, research, write, and develop innovative technology. Virtual meetings need engagement, and we are the ones with the skills to make a difference.

Intensive care unit physicians' challenges on occupational safety and health during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review

IntroductionDemand exceeded capacity during COVID ‘surges' in certain intensive care units around the world, resulting in avoidable deaths, workload pressures on staff, longer and more intensive care, and an increased risk of staff infection during intensive interventions. A limited number of studies examined intensive care physicians' experiences and perceptions during the COVID-19 pandemic. This review summarises the available published articles related to the challenges faced by ICU consultants during the COVID-19 pandemic from an occupational safety and health perspective.Material and MethodsThe PRISMA-ScR guidelines were applied to four online databases, including Medline, Scopus, Web of Science (WOS), and PsycINFO, to identify articles published between January 2020 and October 2022. During the COVID-19 pandemic, ICU consultants' experiences and perspectives on occupational safety and health as a primary outcome are examined.ResultsThe full texts 61 articles were then considered;25 articles met the inclusion criteria, which include English language full texts of available articles, qualitative studies, and ICU consultants. Eight main themes emerged from the synthesis: COVID-19 infection, psychosocial distress, moral distress, physical distress, workplace violence, social stigma, structural and organisational issues, and risk communication. Phenomenological studies make up the majority of the qualitative research, followed by grounded theory studies and case studies.ConclusionsThe global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on intensive care services has been catastrophic. The key to maintaining ICU services during a pandemic is preparedness, adaptation, and mitigation. Consequently, it is essential to acknowledge the ICU consultant's perspective in order to mitigate all potential ICU service disruptions. However, anticipating action for a variety of issues or challenges is best explored through a qualitative interpretive description study directed at ICU consultants with on-the-ground experience.

Reinventing public purpose

The "big three” management consultancies (McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group [BCG], and Bain & Company) and the "big four” accountancies-consultants (PwC, Deloitte, KPMG, and EY) are seemingly ubiquitous. In the UK, their increased presence coincided with, and may have contributed to, increasing disdain over the role of the state and distrust of the public sector. In Sweden, for example, in the over-budget NKS project, BCG consultants charged an estimated Kr700 000 a month for each of nine consultants, "multiples more than public sector managers of similar rank and education are paid in Sweden”. The neoliberal order, by contrast, was grounded in the belief that market forces had to be liberated from government regulatory controls that were stymieing innovation, growth and freedom”, writes Gerstle.

Changing Roles of the State School Nurse Consultants: How the Pandemic Has Accentuated Their Value and Visibility.

State School Nurse Consultants (SSNCs) played a pivotal role in navigating school health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Schools faced unprecedented challenges in which many school administrators found themselves having to make strategic decisions on school health for the first time in their careers. The work of SSNCs has been recognized and appreciated in an unprecedented way, as they became key gatekeepers in school health, forming new partnerships with State Departments of Health and Education stakeholders; supporting school nursing practice, school nurses' mental health, and pandemic fatigue; providing resources; and organizing many state-wide virtual trainings. SSNCs were strategic in developing state school health policy and providing funding support, increasing school nurse positions in their states. As their roles have changed, SSNCs will continue to be intentional in the promotion of health and disease prevention throughout the years to come.

The Rise of the Legal Consultant

In this article Matthew Leopold, Head of Brand and Communications at LexisNexis, discusses the rise of the legal consultant and concludes that while the platform model is positioned well as a disrupter, the traditional law firm model is not going away anytime soon, with talent retention likely to become the biggest challenge for all legal firms over the next few years.

Schulentwicklungsbegleitung als Profession - Entwurf einer ausstehenden Weiterentwicklung

Mit den pandemiebedingten Schulschließungen der Jahre 2020 und 2021 haben sich einerseits die sozialen Disparitäten, mit denen Schulen in Deutschland konfrontiert sind, verschärft, andererseits sind für viele Kinder und Jugendlichen Lernrückstände entstanden, auf die derzeit mit finanzstarken Programmen zu reagieren versucht wird. Dies bestärkt wiederum die Debatte um wirksame Unterstützung von Schulen in ihrer Schulund Unterrichtsentwicklung, in der sich sehr heterogene Positionen bemerkbar machen: Während einerseits die universitären Fachdidaktiken sowie die empirische Schul- und Unterrichtsforschung auf evidenzbasierte und fachbezogene Programme drängen, werden die Schulentwicklung und die an dieser orientierten Schulentwicklungs- oder Prozessberatung häufig skeptisch betrachtet. Der Blick auf Entstehung und Veränderungen der Schulentwicklungsbegleitung soll zunächst aufzeigen, dass jene Skepsis nicht gänzlich unbegründet ist, bevor der Entwurf einer konzeptionellen Grundlegung einer an Lernund Unterrichtsentwicklung orientierten Schulentwicklungsbegleitung umrissen wird. Diese verspricht die Lücke der schulinternen Umsetzung - und damit der Wirksamkeit - jener evidenzbasierten Programme zu schließen, da kein noch so standardisiertes Konzept ohne rekontextualisierte Adaption auskommt.Alternate :The pandemic-related school closures of2020 and 2021 have, on the one hand, increased the social disparities confronting schools in Germany, and, on the other hand, produced learning gaps for many children and young people, which are currently being attempted to address with financially strong programs. This, in turn, reinforces the debate about ef- fective support for schools in their school and teaching improvement, in which very heterogeneous positions are becoming apparent: While university-based subject didactics as well as empirical school and classroom research are pushing for evidence-based and subject-related programs, school improvement and developmental or process consulting are often viewed skeptically. A closer look at the emergence and changes of school improvement consulting shall first show that this skepticism is not completely unfounded, before the draft of a conceptual foundation of a school improvement consulting oriented towards successful learning is outlined. This promises to close the gap of the school-internal implementation - and thus the effectiveness - of those evidence-based programs, since no concept, no matter how standardized, will work without recontextualized adaptation.

Novel use of technology

The Glass communicated with the expert at home via Google Meet™ which, like using FaceTime or a phone call, do not record the encounter, but in addition include password-protected interactions that are on the same level, as is commonplace in workplace meetings these days. Currently underway is a similar study, in which we are utilising the learnings gathered from these two experiences and exploring alternative smart-glasses useability in the specific clinical setting of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) retrievals. Emergency Medicine Specialist, Clinical Lead Simulation Centre, Wellington Hospital, New Zealand.

Recruiting and retaining high quality staff – innovative solution to succession planning

BackgroundThe ability to deliver high quality compassionate end of life care depends on recruiting and retaining high quality staff. Post COVID-19, organisations including hospices acknowledge significant national challenges in recruiting clinical staff with appropriate palliative care experience to meet increasingly complex needs. Innovative ways of succession planning are essential. We present an innovative project whereby aspiring Nurse Consultants are recruited to join an educational programme, incorporating the five pillars of advanced practice, underpinned by robust capabilities. We invite aspiring nurse consultants from other palliative care organisations across the UK to join the programme to benefit from shared learning and development. It encourages co-creation of learning opportunities with the aspiring Nurse Consultants.AimsIn our presentation we will explore the advantages/challenges of developing a contemporary programme of education and support for aspiring Nurse Consultants, as a prototype to develop consultant nurses of the future who can fill the requirement for consultant level input to hospice and broader palliative care workforces. The paper considers how this programme might be upscaled.ApproachAn initial cohort of three aspiring Nurse Consultants at St Christopher’s will be joined by further candidates to start a formal programme of learning, augmented by in-role support and reflection. All attend to clinical practice, service development, leadership, research and QI. The detail of the approach reflects seminal work by Manley, Taylor and Canadian capabilities related to the delivery of palliative care.ResultsWe will report on progress related to recruitment, the detail of the programme, development of the community of practice to which all participants will join and any learning along the way. Also, our insights regarding the value of such a course to support the increasing need for high quality end of life care as detailed in the Long-Term Plan and the Health and Social Care White Paper.

MRI brain scan requests during COVID pandemic in a district general hospital

AimsRemote outpatient consultations during the COVID pandemic have been found to be feasible and safe but has led to concerns of increased reliance on urgent requests for imaging including MRI brain scans. We aim to study the requests for MRI brain scans during the pandemic period compared to the pre-pandemic period.MethodsMRI brain scan requests on all children between 0-16 years in a district general hospital during the pandemic period (P) (March 2020-August2021) were compared to pre-pandemic period (PP) (September 2018-February 2020). Apart from one consultant (consultant A) who was shielded and did only remote telephone and/or video outpatient consultations, the remaining consultants (consultants B) were flexibly working with combination of face-to-face examinations (F2F) and remote consultations. All children who needed an ‘urgent scan’ (to be done within maximum 14 days) had to have a F2F examination before scan request was made. ‘Routine scan’ requests (to be done within maximum 6 weeks) either followed from remote consultation or after F2F. Consultant A requested only routine scans during the period P. All significant scan abnormalities on MRI brain scans were noted.ResultsDuring period PP the total scan requests were 467;urgent scans were requested in 29% children (32% requests in children <12 years). Urgent scans were done within a mean of 5 days (0-14 days);significant abnormalities in these urgent scans were seen in 23% cases. During period P total numbers of patients seen were 13794 (consultants B) and 2217 (consultant A) respectively. Total number of scan requests were 453 (397 consultants B and 56 consultant A). Urgent scan requests were total of 176 (44.3%) with 108 (61.3%) requested in children <12 years. 34 (19.3%) urgent scans showed significant abnormalities. Urgent scans were done in average of 3.6 days in 147 children but were done after 14 days (average 28.6 days) in remaining 29 (16.5%) children with urgent scan requests. Significant scan abnormalities were found in 6 children in whom the urgent scan was delayed. No significant abnormalities were seen on routine scans asked by consultant A. Mean routine scan request per total number of patients seen were 2.9% (consultants B) and 2.5% (consultant A) respectively.ConclusionSignificantly more urgent requests for MRI scans were made during the pandemic period especially in children below 12 years. Extreme parental anxiety about presenting symptoms during the pandemic may have significantly contributed to the increased urgent requests. This may have also contributed to a delay in getting urgent requests and delay in diagnosis in 6 children.Similar total levels of routine scan requests in the two periods, P and PP, suggest that remote consultations have not increased the requests for MRI brain scans. There was no significant difference in the average number of routine scan requests in the 2 groups, Consultants B and Consultant A. In addition the scan requests following remote consultations appear to be safe with similar significant scan abnormalities seen in the two periods.Parental reassurance and adherence to recommended guidelines may help in reducing urgent scan requests especially in younger children.

Substance Use and Mental Health Disorders: Psychologists' Role in Bridging the Gap

Nearly 30% of people with a mental health disorder will also have a substance use disorder at some point in their lives. Despite widespread evidence of the complex interactions between mental health and substance use and the value of integrated treatment, the majority of people with concurrent disorders do not receive treatment that addresses both conditions. Psychologists are ideally suited to bridge this gap in care, but this will not be without challenges. Psychologists possess extensive skills in identifying, diagnosing, and treating mental health disorders, which are transferrable to substance use disorders. Psychologists also have formal training in supervision and consultation and thus can supervise or act as consultants for other professionals in treating concurrent disorders. They have expertise in program development, evaluation, and research and can lead projects to integrate mental health and substance use services. Barriers to psychologists bridging this gap center on siloes in our healthcare system, the lack of training for psychologists to develop competency and confidence in substance use disorder diagnosis and treatment, misperceptions about how individuals with substance use disorders respond to psychological treatment, as well as system barriers. Overcoming these barriers comes with clear benefits and will require changes to professional training, clinical practice, and research on evidence-based treatments for concurrent disorders. Agencies across Canada are calling for action to ensure individuals with concurrent disorders receive the integrated services they require. Being at the leading edge of this change offers an important opportunity for psychologists. Près de 30 % des personnes présentant un trouble de santé mentale auront aussi un trouble lié à la consommation d'une substance au cours de leur vie. Malgré les preuves répandues au sujet des interactions complexes entre la santé mentale et la consommation d'une substance et de la valeur d'un traitement intégré, la majorité des gens ayant des troubles concomitants ne reçoivent pas de traitement simultané pour les deux conditions. Les psychologues sont les mieux placés pour combler cette lacune, mais cela ne se fera pas sans difficulté. Ils possèdent de vastes compétences pour cerner, diagnostiquer et traiter les troubles de santé mentale, qui sont transférables aux troubles liés à la consommation de substances. Ils ont reçu une formation en supervision et en consultation, ce qui leur permet de superviser ou de conseiller d'autres professionnels au sujet du traitement de troubles concomitants. Les psychologues possèdent une expertise en matière de développement de programmes, d'évaluation et de recherche, et ils peuvent diriger des projets visant à intégrer des services en santé mentale et des services concernant la consommation de substances. Les obstacles au règlement des lacunes par les psychologues sont attribuables au travail en vase clos au sein de notre système de santé, au manque de formation qui permettrait aux psychologues d'acquérir les compétences et la confiance requises pour diagnostiquer et traiter les troubles liés à la consommation de substances, à la méconnaissance de la réponse des personnes ayant de tels troubles aux traitements psychologiques, ainsi qu'à divers obstacles du système. Surmonter ces obstacles apportera des avantages nets et nécessitera des changements à la formation professionnelle, à la pratique clinique et à la recherche sur les traitements fondés sur des preuves pour les troubles concomitants. Des organismes partout au Canada demandent que des mesures soient prises pour veiller à ce que les personnes présentant des troubles concomitants reçoivent les services intégrés dont elles ont besoin. Se positionner à la tête de ce changement constitue une occasion importante pour les psychologues.

Operational Adaptation and Innovation During COVID-19: Lessons Learned from Consulting and a Road Map for the Future

The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally changed professional service firm (PSF) operations, most visible perhaps in the transition to a work from home economy. This study is a deep dive into management consulting (a common type of PSF) and describes the impact of the pandemic on short- and long-term operations. It uses a mixed-method approach to data collection (primary/secondary and quantitative/qualitative) to explain the operational adaptations that consulting firms made in response to the pandemic and the service innovations that resulted. During the pandemic, disruptions to client mix, customer experience, customer acquisition, and employee lifestyle triggered new organizational challenges in strategic planning, marketing, employee relations, and cost control. Firms responded by modifying operational characteristics (e.g., customer engagement, customization, knowledge intensity, and capital intensity). Successful operational adaptations led to service innovation (most commonly in product, strategy, delivery, and marketing). The study finishes with an exploration of how the lessons learned in management consulting may provide a road map for other PSFs and more generalized services in a post-pandemic world.

Small matching grants for women entrepreneurs: lessons from the past recession

During the economic slowdown caused by the financial crisis in 2008, grants for entrepreneurs were made available to support economic development. Whether such a policy instrument is effective for business development is a highly relevant question in the aftermath of the COVID-19. We evaluate the causal effects of small business development matching grants using a quasi-experimental approach. The grants were exclusively targeted to women entrepreneurs and provided during the recession after the financial crisis. Our findings demonstrate an increase in bank loans and a positive impact on turnover, value-added, capital, employment, and overall factor productivity for more experienced women entrepreneurs. As the grants are too small to have direct economic effects or indirect effects via the certification effect, they alleviate time and information constraints of women entrepreneurs. The cost-benefit analysis shows an increase in value-added that outweighs the scheme-related costs.Plain English SummaryThis study evaluates the effect of small public grants for women entrepreneurs. Grants were used for childcare and business consultancy costs to alleviate time and information constraints of women entrepreneurs. Benefiting from these grants resulted in higher bank loans. The women entrepreneurs on average invested more money in capital and had better performance measures like turnover and value-added. The effect was particularly evident among more experienced women entrepreneurs. The cost-benefit analysis shows grant-induced increase in value-added outweighs the scheme-related costs. The study implies small public grants for women entrepreneurs increase small firms’ growth, and these grants are in addition a cost-effective policy tool.

Practicing OD Virtually

Despite the continuous development of Organization Development (OD) since its inception, the complex environment and the COVID-19 pandemic pose numerous challenges to the field's relevancy. One of these challenges is the necessary transition from face-to-face to virtual interactions, including technology-based consulting. A review of the relevant OD consulting and virtual consulting literature reveals an opportunity for the field to begin focusing on virtual OD practices that are already in place. Research supports clients' positive feelings and experiences with virtualized consulting services and the necessary shift of the field to the virtual space. However, there may be ethical and practical implications to practicing OD virtually, such as its misalignment with OD's long-standing, humanistic values. Other implications to consider involve the compatibility of virtual OD consulting with cultures across the world. In order to overcome these dilemmas, it will be beneficial for OD scholars and practitioners to maintain our human focus and better use our values to guide research and practice.

Faculty

Biographies of Lead Presenters, ICCEC 2021 (alphabetical by presenter) Marleen Bakker Biography: Dr. Marleen Bakker is trained as a pulmonologist after a PhD on lung cancer research, and has been working as a staff member at the department of Pulmonary Diseases of the Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands since 2002. Since 2004 that department started a cooperation with the department of Pulmonary Diseases of Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, and since 2014 with the department of Pulmonary Diseases of Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town. Since the COVID-19 outbreak Dr Botes became actively involved in pandemic preparedness and management research, writing the section about the pandemic's impact on human rights in the Country Report on governmental leadership, governance and the implementation of measures to combat COVID-19 in South Africa. Dr Botes is also serving on the panel of experts of the Academy of Sciences of South Africa (ASSAf) to investigate, advise and write consensus reports on the Ethical, Legal and Social Issues (ELSI) related to Advanced Therapies such as gene therapy and stem cell research. Having started her career in private practice, representing London hospitals in their clinical negligence claims, she moved into academic law and has been the module convener for Medical Law and Ethics at Hertfordshire Law School for a number of years.

Dermatology consultations in patients with hematological and solid organ malignancies

Aims: Patients with hematological or solid organ malignancies are susceptible to various skin disorders. This study described the cutaneous problems related to the underlying diseases or their management in hematology and oncology inpatients. Methods: In this retrospective study with a cross-sectional analysis, we examined the medical records of inpatients with hematologic or solid organ malignancy who consulted the dermatology department from January 2018 through March 2021. Sociodemographic characteristics, medical history and comorbidities, cancer type, and dermatological findings and diagnoses were noted. Patients who have consulted the outpatient clinic and those with inadequate medical records were excluded. Results: The study included 200 patients (age, mean±standard deviation, minimum-maximum: 51.4±18.2, 18-89 years;female 51%). Most of the consultations were from the internal medicine clinic (26.4%), followed by the hematology and oncology clinics (12.5%). A quarter of the patients had acute myeloid leukemia, the most frequent disease among hematological malignancies. Breast cancer (7%) and testis cancer (7%) were the most common solid organ malignancies. The most common dermatological diagnoses were cutaneous infections (33.5%) and drug reactions (13.5%). Skin biopsies were performed in 19.5% (n=39) of the patients. The evaluation of the patient by a dermatologist for a cutaneous symptom or finding led to modifications of disease management in 67 patients (33.7%). Conclusions: Dermatology consultations are frequently required in hematological or solid organ malignancies. A successful evaluation of skin manifestations in these patients may improve the quality of care in this vulnerable population.

To protect and to serve: developing a road map for research data management services

Research Data Management (RDM) has become a major issue for universities over the last decade. This case study outlines the review of RDM services carried out at the University of Oxford in partnership with external consultants between November 2019 and November 2020. It aims to describe and discuss the processes in undertaking a university-wide review of services supporting RDM and developing a future road map for them, with a strong emphasis on the design processes, methodological approaches and infographics used. The future road map developed is a live document, which the consulting team handed over to the University at the end of the consultation process. It provides a suggested RDM action plan for the University that will continue to evolve and be iterated in the light of additional internal costings, available resources and reprioritization in the budget cycle for each academic year. It is hoped that the contents of this case study will be useful to other research-intensive universities with an interest in developing and planning RDM services to support their researchers.

Patient Digital Health Technologies to Support Primary Care Across Clinical Contexts: Survey of Primary Care Providers, Behavioral Health Consultants, and Nurses.

BACKGROUND: The acceptance of digital health technologies to support patient care for various clinical conditions among primary care providers and staff has not been explored. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to explore the extent of potential differences between major groups of providers and staff in primary care, including behavioral health consultants (BHCs; eg, psychologists, social workers, and counselors), primary care providers (PCPs; eg, physicians and nurse practitioners), and nurses (registered nurses and licensed practical nurses) in the acceptance of various health technologies (ie, mobile apps, wearables, live video, phone, email, instant chats, text messages, social media, and patient portals) to support patient care across a variety of clinical situations. METHODS: We surveyed 151 providers (51 BHCs, 52 PCPs, and 48 nurses) embedded in primary care clinics across the United States who volunteered to respond to a web-based survey distributed in December 2020 by a large health care market research company. Respondents indicated the technologies they consider appropriate to support patients' health care needs across the following clinical contexts: acute and chronic disease, medication management, health-promoting behaviors, sleep, substance use, and common and serious mental health conditions. We used descriptive statistics to summarize the distribution of demographic characteristics by provider type. We used contingency tables to compile summaries of the proportion of provider types endorsing each technology within and across clinical contexts. This study was exploratory in nature, with the intent to inform future research. RESULTS: Most of the respondents were from urban and suburban settings (125/151, 82.8%), with 12.6% (n=19) practicing in rural or frontier settings and 4.6% (n=7) practicing in rural-serving clinics. Respondents were dispersed across the United States, including the Northeast (31/151, 20.5%), Midwest (n=32, 21.2%), South (n=49, 32.5%), and West (n=39, 25.8%). The highest acceptance for technologies across clinical contexts was among BHCs (32/51, 63%) and PCPs (30/52, 58%) for live video and among nurses for mobile apps (30/48, 63%). A higher percentage of nurses accepted all other technologies relative to BHCs and PCPs. Similarly, relative to other groups, PCPs indicated lower levels of acceptance. Within clinical contexts, the highest acceptance rates were reported among 80% (41/51) of BHCs and 69% (36/52) of PCPs endorsing live video for common mental health conditions and 75% (36/48) of nurses endorsing mobile apps for health-promoting behaviors. The lowest acceptance across providers was for social media in the context of medication management (9.3% [14/151] endorsement across provider type). CONCLUSIONS: The survey suggests potential differences in the way primary care clinicians and staff envision using technologies to support patient care. Future work must attend to reasons for differences in the acceptance of various technologies across providers and clinical contexts. Such an understanding will help inform appropriate implementation strategies to increase acceptability and gain greater adoption of appropriate technologies across conditions and patient populations.

Assessing the use of telephone consultations to mitigate the effects of social distancing measures for the COVID‐19 pandemic in ophthalmology services

PurposeTo investigate the change in routine outpatient ophthalmology UK practice during the COVID‐19 pandemic focusing on the use of telephone and video consultation. To determine the views of the UK consultant ophthalmologists on the role of teleophthalmology and its future use.MethodsA survey was designed to determine teleophthalmology practices pre‐COVID and during the first COVID‐19 lockdown. It also assessed participants’ views concerning the adoption of teleophthalmology and its future application within ophthalmology. The survey recipients were consultants within the UK. The data were collected and analysed using quantitative (SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA) and qualitative (thematic collation) methods.Results1. Statistically significant reduction in face‐to‐face workload during the first lockdown.2. Telephone and video consultation usage increased during lockdown;(93.8 %) of respondents performed telephone consultations and (23.8%) carried out video consultations.3. (46.25%) of consultants were concerned about the potential negative effect tele‐ophthalmology on training.4. (52.50%) of consultants did not agree that remote consultation should become the default modality of care (Strongly disagree‐disagree). Although, subspecialties like neuroophthalmology (50%) and oculoplastics (43.48%) supported the adoption of this model.5. (38.13%) of the consultant body thought that video consultation added value over a telephone consultation.6. Thematic analysis:Benefits: efficient in management low risk patients, useful as an adjunct to other services, increase capacity without the space issue and help deal with backlog of patients.Limitations: Investment into telemedicine hubs is required for it to become more applicable in more fields;not appropriate for some sub‐specialities and risks of missed signs and missed care.ConclusionsThe use of teleophthalmology increased during the first COVID‐19 lockdown. UK ophthalmologists expressed their concern about the negative impact of remote consulting particularly on training. More than 50% disagreed with making tele‐ophthalmology the default modality of care;however, sub‐specialities such neuroophthalmology and oculoplastics perceived that it could be valuable.

Introduction of 24 h Resident Consultant Cover in a Tertiary Neonatal Unit-Impact on Mortality and Clinical Outcomes.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to determine whether the introduction of 24 h cover by resident consultants in a tertiary neonatal unit affected mortality and other clinical outcomes. METHODS: Retrospective cohort study in a tertiary medical and surgical neonatal unit between 2010-2020 of all liveborn infants admitted to the neonatal unit. Out of hours cover was rearranged in 2014 to ensure 24 h presence of a senior trained neonatologist (resident consultant). RESULTS: In the study period, 4778 infants were included: 2613 in the pre-resident period and 2165 in the resident period. The median (IQR) time to first consultation by a senior member of staff was significantly longer in the pre-resident period [1.5 (0.6-4.3) h] compared to the resident period [0.5 (0.3-1.5) h, p < 0.001]. Overall, mortality was similar in the pre-resident and the resident periods (3.2% versus 2.3%, p = 0.077), but the mortality of infants born at night was significantly higher in the pre-resident (4.5%) compared to the resident period (2.5%, p = 0.016). The resident period was independently associated with an increased survival to discharge (adjusted p < 0.001, odds ratio: 2.0) after adjusting for gestational age, admission temperature and duration of ventilation. CONCLUSIONS: Following introduction of a resident consultant model the mortality and time to consultation after admission decreased.