Finding Positive Takeaways for Resident Education from the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Approach

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Wisconsin, School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted learning environments across the continuum of medical education. While several recent studies have highlighted educational innovations arising from the pandemic, limited evidence exists describing beneficial changes that may have occurred from residents’ perspectives. The present study explored perceptions of post-graduate trainees from several specialties and highlighted educational ‘wins’ from pandemic innovations that should inform post-pandemic practices.
Methods: A qualitative instrument was developed through input from Emergency Medicine (EM) residents, faculty, and the University of Wisconsin EM Education and Research committees. It was disseminated via email to EM, Internal Medicine, and Surgery residents who were PGY-2 or higher at a single academic institution. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis; two raters independently coded the responses of residents and arrived at consensus.
Results: Advantages of clinical reassignments included novel clinical experiences as well as the perception of contributing to a greater good. Residents noted a greater sense of meaning in their studying related to the pandemic, while also reporting greater flexibility in their options. Positive changes to didactic lectures included ease, efficiency, and comfort associated with remote lectures as well high-quality visiting expert and resident presentations. Finally, key elements of the support provided by residency programs were consistent communications, provision of relevant resources, acknowledging difficulties, and replacing lost clinical experiences. 
Conclusions: Many innovative elements of residencies’ response to COVID-19, such as flexible scheduling and offering more opportunities for individualized learning, were well-received by trainees.

Keywords

References

  1. Gordon M, Patricio M, Horne L, Muston A, Alston SR, Pammi M, et al. Developments in medical education in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: A rapid BEME systematic review: BEME Guide No. 63. Med Teach. 2020;42(11):1202-15.
  2. Austin A, Rudolf F, Fernandez J, Ishimine P, Murray M, Suresh P,et al. COVID-19 Educational Innovation: Hybrid In-Person and Virtual Simulation for Emergency Medicine Trainees. AEM Educ Train. 2021:e10593.
  3. Singh K, Srivastav S, Bhardwaj A, Dixit A, Misra S, et al. Medical Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Single Institution Experience. Indian Pediatr. 2020;57(7):678-79.
  4. Mufti A, Maliyar K, Sachdeva M, Doiron P. Modifications to dermatology residency education during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2020;83(3):e235-6.
  5. Coleman CG, Law KL, Spicer JO. Education in The Time of COVID: Leveraging Social Media to Teach during Pandemic Pandemonium. Med Educ. 2020;54(9):852-53.
  6. Rabin E, Willis J, Alexander D, Steinberg E, Chung A, Kulkarni M, et al. Residency Leadership Lessons From the Epicenter of the COVID-19 Surge. AEM Educ Train. 2020;4(4):340-346.
  7. Johnson J, Chung MT, Carron MA, Chan EY, Lin HS, Hotaling J. Novel changes in resident education during a pandemic: strategies and approaches to maximize residency education and safety. Int Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2020;24(3):e267-e271.
  8. Safdar N, Abbo LM, Knobloch MJ, Seo SK. Research methods in healthcare epidemiology: survey and qualitative research. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2016;37(11):1272-7.
  9. Bosua R, Kurnia S, Gloet M, Mendoza A. Telework Impact on Productivity and Well-Being. Social Inclusion and Usability of ICT-Enabled Services. 2017;201.
  10. Weygandt PL, Jordan J, Caretta‐Weyer H, Osborne A, Moore KG. Impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on emergency medicine education: Insights from faculty and residents. AEMEduc Train. 2021;5:e10603.
  11. Nourazari S, Davis SR, Granovsky R, Austin R, Straff DJ, Joseph JW, et al. Decreased hospital admissions through emergency departments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Am J Emerg Med. 2021;42:203-10.
  12. Perina DG, Marco CA, Smith-Coggins R, Kowalenko T, Johnson MM, Harvey A. Well-Being among emergency medicine resident physicians: results from the ABEM longitudinal study of emergency medicine residents. The Journal of emergency medicine. 2018;55(1):101-109. e102.
  13. Estes M, Gopal P, Siegelman JN, Bailitz J, Gottlieb M. Individualized interactive instruction: a guide to best practices from the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors. West J Emerg Med. 2019;20(2):363.
  14. Della-Giustina D, Kamran A, Wood DB, Goldflam K. Resident Self-Assessment and the Deficiency of Individualized Learning Plans in Our Residencies. West J Emerg Med. 2021;22(1):33.
  15. Chan T, Sebok-Syer S, Thoma B, Wise A, Sherbino J, Pusic M. Learning Analytics in Medical Education Assessment: The Past, the Present, and the Future. AEM Educ Train. 2018;2(2):178-87.
  16. Denning M, Goh ET, Tan B, Kanneganti A, Almonte M, Scott A, et al. Determinants of burnout and other aspects of psychological well-being in healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a multinational cross-sectional study. PLoS One. 2021;16(4):e0238666.
Future of Medical Education Journal
Volume 12, Issue 1
March 2022
Pages 3-6

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics