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Student Volunteering as a Solution for Undergraduate Health Professions Education: Lessons From the COVID-19 Pandemic.

ABSTRACT: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many medical universities worldwide, including the Poznan University of Medical Sciences, launched student volunteering projects (SVPs). We examined our student volunteers' perceptions on the conditions, safety, costs and benefits of their participation in the SVP. Using this information, we attempted to assess the viability of SVPs as a solution for health professions education during and after the pandemic. The main research tool was a questionnaire on students' perceptions of their participation in the SVP. As a complementary qualitative method, we used semi-structured interviews with the volunteers. Our respondents (n = 158) perceived conditions and safety generally positively: most reported having personal protective equipment (89.24%), technical support (88.61%), and induction training (79.11%). Only 38.61% said they had access to psychological support. In our view, benefits (e.g., an opportunity to make new contacts or receiving positive reactions from patients and staff) seemed to outweigh costs. 65.82% of the respondents agreed that they learnt new interesting things. A majority noticed the development of their soft skills (social 86.08%; organisational 78.48%; stress management 68.99%), while 40.51% - the development of their medical skills. The interviews pointed to additional benefits for students such as gaining insight of the healthcare system, and costs such as distress caused by some patient interactions. We conclude that student volunteering could become a viable solution for health professions education. To maximise its educational potential, volunteers' needs must be explored, psychological support ensured, and opportunities for mentoring and reflection provided. The organisational framework of a SVP should be culturally sensitive.

SUBMITTER: Chawlowska E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7871007 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Student Volunteering as a Solution for Undergraduate Health Professions Education: Lessons From the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Chawłowska Ewelina E Staszewski Rafał R Lipiak Agnieszka A Giernaś Bogusz B Karasiewicz Monika M Bazan Dominika D Nowosadko Maria M Cofta Mateusz M Wysocki Jacek J

Frontiers in public health 20210126

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many medical universities worldwide, including the Poznan University of Medical Sciences, launched student volunteering projects (SVPs). We examined our student volunteers' perceptions on the conditions, safety, costs and benefits of their participation in the SVP. Using this information, we attempted to assess the viability of SVPs as a solution for health professions education during and after the pandemic. The main research tool was a questionnaire on stu ...[more]

PMID: 33575246

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Project description:PurposeThe disruption of undergraduate medical education (UME) by the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked rapid, real-time adjustments by medical educators and students. While much is known about online teaching in general, little guidance is available to medical educators on how to adapt courses not originally designed for the online environment. To guide our faculty in this transition we conducted a needs assessment of students enrolled in virtual courses across all 4 years of UME training.MethodsUsing a mixed-methods approach, we conducted a single-institution virtual learning needs assessment in May and June of 2020. We developed and disseminated a survey to assess student experiences with virtual learning. We conducted quantitative and qualitative analysis of responses (n = 255 or 39%) to identify emergent themes.ResultsWe identified six interdependent themes that need to be met for medical students to fully reach their learning potential: access to stable internet and quiet study spaces, flexible course design with asynchronous, self-paced components, clear expectations for engagement with content and each other, a sense of connectedness with faculty and peers, synchronous classes that maximize interactivity, and assessments that foster a sense of learning over performance. Interpersonal relationships with faculty and peers affected students' sense of learning more than any other factor.ConclusionsBased on our findings we propose a hierarchy of needs for virtual learning that provides guidance on adapting existing medical school courses to the remote setting and overcoming common challenges. We highlight opportunities for how virtual elements may enrich in-person courses going forward, including in the clinical setting. Although the solutions required to meet the threshold of need at each level may differ based on the context, attending to these same fundamental needs can be extrapolated and applied to learners across a range of environments beyond the virtual.

Project description:The COVID-19 pandemic literally stopped most human movement and activities as it initially spread, which included dental practices and dental education. This defined the need for significative changes in teaching and learning with the use of "e-learning" methods, also for traineeships. This study was designed to determine the undergraduate student perception of these new methods as part of their education. This involved 353 students attending the Dental School of the G. D'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, from the first to the sixth years. A questionnaire in Italian and was set-up using "Google Forms" and sent by email to the students. The questionnaire was divided into three parts: the first part included questions for general information, including age, sex and year of course; the second part had multiple choice questions related to their evaluation of the e-learning teaching, using a scale of opinion in the replies to each question (e.g., "scarce", "fair", "satisfying", "very good" and "excellent"); and the third part included two open questions to indicate the strengths and limitations of these new teaching and learning approaches. The categorical variables in the first and second parts of the questionnaire were evaluated using Chi squared tests, setting significance at p < 0.05, while the comments were evaluated qualitatively. The student feedback showed significant appreciation (p < 0.05) of the new methods and the efforts that the lecturers put in to provide lectures of as high a quality as possible. However, a lack of practical training was significantly perceived as an important problem in the structure of their new curriculum (p < 0.05). COVID-19 has been an epic tragedy that has hit the human population not only in terms of health and healthcare, but also quality of life. This includes the quality of dental education within universities. However, the pandemic can be seen to also represent motivation to invest in the necessary technological innovation to deliver the best possible education to our future dentists.

Project description:ProblemValue-added medical education (VAME) has been difficult to implement due to student and educator constraints. The COVID-19 pandemic caused mass transitions to online learning, removed students from clinical settings, and underscored students' desires for meaningful VAME opportunities. The authors introduced the Stanford Frontline COVID-19 Consult Service (SFCS), through which off-service medical and physician assistant (PA) students provided assistance to clinicians in the form of rapid research regarding COVID-19 clinical questions.ApproachThe SFCS, a student-derived VAME initiative, was implemented from March to May 2020 by Stanford University medical students, PA students, and faculty. SFCS aligned with not only the interests of clinicians and students but also national accreditation standards. Students attended weekly editorial meetings, didactic sessions on literature reviews and information management, and they underwent rigorous training on the peer review process. After 2 months, the authors expanded the service to local community clinicians.OutcomesThe SFCS enrolled 16 students, was supported by 13 faculty members, and produced 87 peer-reviewed evidence syntheses. Of the 16 SFCS students, 13 (81%) completed evaluations; of 128 Stanford Primary Care and Population Health clinicians, 48 (38%) completed evaluations. Overall student satisfaction with the SFCS was 4.9/5 (standard deviation [SD] 0.3). Self-assessed achievement of SFCS learning objectives exceeded 90% for all objectives. Overall faculty satisfaction with the SFCS was 4.4/5 (SD 0.8). Most faculty (40/46 [87%]) planned to use the database to answer future COVID-19 questions.Next stepsThe SFCS is a novel, student-initiated VAME curriculum focused on increasing students' meaningful contributions to patient care. The authors will track SFCS students throughout their clerkships to gauge clerkship performance/preparedness, and they will develop training for integrating VAME into preclerkship curricula at other institutions. Given its adaptive, student-driven design, the VAME framework used to develop the SFCS empowers students to create their own personalized, experiential learning.

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Student Volunteering as a Solution for Undergraduate Health Professions Education: Lessons From the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Publications

Student Volunteering as a Solution for Undergraduate Health Professions Education: Lessons From the COVID-19 Pandemic.

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