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Emerging from emergency pandemic pedagogy: A survey of anatomical educators in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

ABSTRACT: It is critical that academic opinion of pandemic pedagogy is comprehensively quantified in order to inform future practices. Thus, this study examines how anatomists in the United Kingdom (UK) and Republic of Ireland (ROI) perceive the teaching adaptations made in response to COVID-19, and how these adaptations have impacted their experiences teaching, their online work environment and community. Data was collected via a questionnaire from 24 anatomists across 15 universities in the UK (11) and ROI (4). With regards to teaching, 95.6% of academics have upskilled in new technologies to meet the demands of distance teaching. Academics (95.8%) preferred face-to-face delivery of practical sessions. Most universities (80.0%) reported that practical sessions will continue in a new form that ensures social distancing. However, 50.0% of academics are uncertain if these adaptations will improve student learning. Many anatomists believe that the new adaptations may hinder student-student (66.7%) and student-tutor (45.8%) interactions. Regarding assessment, 52.6% of academics preferred traditional methods to online. Remote online assessment was difficult to protect against collusion, but provided time saving opportunities for academics. Finally, in terms of working environment, 83.3% of academics stated that their workload increased; 54.2% preferred working on site rather than remotely and 79.2% think that staff interactions are better when working on site. These results demonstrate a widespread concern amongst anatomists regarding the pandemic-induced adaptations to teaching, assessment and working environment. However, important opportunities were also identified that could ultimately serve to benefit students and educators alike.

SUBMITTER: Dulohery K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8239787 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Klebsiella pneumoniae is a human commensal and opportunistic pathogen that has become a leading causative agent of hospital-based infections over the past few decades. The emergence and global expansion of hypervirulent and multidrug-resistant (MDR) clones of K. pneumoniae have been increasingly reported in community-acquired and nosocomial infections. Despite this, the population genomics and epidemiology of MDR K. pneumoniae at the national level are still poorly understood. To obtain insights into these, we analyzed a systematic large-scale collection of invasive MDR K. pneumoniae isolates from hospitals across the United Kingdom and Ireland. Using whole-genome phylogenetic analysis, we placed these in the context of previously sequenced K. pneumoniae populations from geographically diverse countries and identified their virulence and drug resistance determinants. Our results demonstrate that United Kingdom and Ireland MDR isolates are a highly diverse population drawn from across the global phylogenetic tree of K. pneumoniae and represent multiple recent international introductions that are mainly from Europe but in some cases from more distant countries. In addition, we identified novel genetic determinants underlying resistance to beta-lactams, gentamicin, ciprofloxacin, and tetracyclines, indicating that both increased virulence and resistance have emerged independently multiple times throughout the population. Our data show that MDR K. pneumoniae isolates in the United Kingdom and Ireland have multiple distinct origins and appear to be part of a globally circulating K. pneumoniae population.IMPORTANCEKlebsiella pneumoniae is a major human pathogen that has been implicated in infections in healthcare settings over the past few decades. Antimicrobial treatment of K. pneumoniae infections has become increasingly difficult as a consequence of the emergence and spread of strains that are resistant to multiple antimicrobials. To better understand the spread of resistant K. pneumoniae, we studied the genomes of a large-scale population of extensively antimicrobial-resistant K. pneumoniae in the United Kingdom and Ireland by utilizing the fine resolution that whole-genome sequencing of pathogen genomes provides. Our results indicate that the K. pneumoniae population is highly diverse and that, in some cases, resistant strains appear to have spread across the country over a few years. In addition, we found evidence that some strains have acquired antimicrobial resistance genes independently, presumably in response to antimicrobial treatment.

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Emerging from emergency pandemic pedagogy: A survey of anatomical educators in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

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