Abstract:
The COVID-19 pandemic caused a major disruptive change in the educational system,
including healthcare professions education. The highly contagious nature of the virus forced
healthcare professions education to suspend or cancel face-to-face lectures, labs, and clinical
teachings (1). While the pandemic will be remembered as a source of disruption, many will
likely see it as a game-changer for the transformation of healthcare professions education.
Due to the pandemic restriction and closure of educational institutions, educators and
healthcare professionals shifted from real-time physical teaching to virtual learning with
substantial changes in curriculum including the delivery and assessment modes (2).
In the post-pandemic era, face-to-face education has already been restored, but the
integration of technology is highly likely to be an essential component of the future of
health professions education. The present topic aimed to explore alternative teaching modes
adopted in healthcare professions education due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We invited articles on various topics on scientific research and advances in innovations
in teaching, learning, and evaluation in healthcare professions education. The published
articles have highlighted the challenges as well as meaningful ideas and solutions to integrate
technology in healthcare teaching and training.
Students and teachers had no choice but to adopt remote learning for the smooth
transition of the curriculum. They came across numerous challenges such as poor
technological infrastructure, lack of non-verbal communication, lack of clinical skills
development, improper handling of virtual learning platforms, and lack of collaborative
learning. Engaging students in the virtual learning process was also a herculean task for
the instructors (Sarkar et al.; Hertling et al.). Gradually, students and teachers became
acquainted with these new ways of knowledge transfer and remote learning. At the beginning
of the virtual learning, students were enthusiastic and showed a positive attitude toward the
new format of learning, whereas many teachers viewed it negatively because of the challenges
to operate the digital platform. Subsequently, teachers were able to acquire technology skills
and be comfortable with online teaching (Hertling et al.).
To continue with digital learning for the long term beyond COVID-19, it must be
learner-friendly and diversified in terms of teaching and assessment. Teachers need to utilize
both synchronous and asynchronous learning more efficiently. Yang et al. constructed a
student-centered diversified online method to teach neurology by combining the advantages
of modern information technology and scientific research. The teaching method consisted
of diverse teaching resources (Online courses, MOOCs, virtual reality simulation systems),
Frontiers in Medicine 01 frontiersin.org
Sahu and Dalçik 10.3389/fmed.2023.1265811
diverse teaching services (question-answer sessions, discussion
forums, teachers’ feedback), and diverse teaching processes
(multifarious teaching and assessment methods). It promoted
students’ interest in the subject, and they mastered the teaching
content. It allowed teachers to reform their current teaching
practices and improve the quality of teaching during the pandemic
and for future education.
Practice-based clinical learning is a critical component of
medical and healthcare training. It was challenging for the
faculty and clinical preceptors to create an effective alternative to
clinical learning when real-time classes were suspended during
the pandemic (Bawadi, Shami et al.). Considering the safety of
the students, family members, and patients, switching to virtual
clinical teaching was considered necessary. However, it did not
satisfy many preceptors and students due to the limited exposure
to a real-time clinical teaching. Some students favored a real time clinical learning environment with necessary protective
measures (Bawadi, Rahim et al.). On the other hand, there is
also evidence of students’ positive outcomes in learning clinical
skills by integrating appropriate technology. For example, Wang
L. et al. found in their study that a virtual simulation operation
(VSO) contributes to high-quality engagement in clinical skill
courses. Students who used a VSO performed better in the clinical
examinations compared to those who did not. It indicates that
the proper use of technology, more specifically the VSO, can
improve students’ clinical skills operation. The outcomes of these
studies set the base for future research to design effective and
competency-based curriculum for online clinical learning using
proper technology.
The COVID-19 pandemic opened the way to innovations
in teaching adopting advanced digital technology such as
e-learning, virtual simulation, podcasts, Siilos, Blackboard
Collaborate, and many more (Wang M.-C. et al.). Podcasts
are become increasingly popular in healthcare professions
education. Healthcare professions education in Western countries
has already integrated podcasts into curriculum design and
delivery. The instant message application “Siilo” is another digital
technology which has grown in popularity among physicians
and health professionals during the pandemic. Siilo can create
multiple folders in the smartphones or laptops which can store
text messages, pictures, videos, and documents of patients
separately. It appears to be a promising tool for facilitating
case-based learning in health professions education. However,
there is limited evidence showing the effectiveness of these
digital technologies as teaching tools. More rigorous studies
evaluating the students’ learning outcomes and behavioral changes
need to be performed to prove the significance of podcasts and
Siilo compared to traditional educational modalities (Shahar
et al.).
Health professionals require continuous and life-long learning
to improve their competency level in their respective areas.
Integration of technology in continuing medical education
(CME) has undergone perpetual and progressive changes during
COVID-19. Healthcare professionals used cloud classrooms
which provided them with greater learning and exchange
opportunities by attending virtual meetings and academic
discussions from their homes without traveling anywhere.
A cloud classroom plays a vital role in promoting learning
experiences and developing the competency level of health
professionals through a series of seminars, meetings, case
discussions, special lectures, and interactive sessions (Chen
et al.).
Good communication skills are a key attribute of a healthcare
service. Therefore, every health profession student should
demonstrate effective communication and interpersonal skills
to become a competent healthcare professional. Assessment
of these skills has always been a difficult job for the teachers.
During the pandemic, assessing students’ communication
skills via telehealth provided a useful opportunity with the
growing use of online environments. Wright et al. found
that non-verbal communication is more difficult to assess
using telehealth compared to verbal communication. To
use telehealth effectively, proper training is required for
teachers responsible for assessing students’ communication
and interpersonal skills.
The pandemic not only caused disruption in healthcare
professions education but also created the issue of poor access to
healthcare facilities. Due to lockdowns and restriction policies, self medication practices had become widely popular among people
across countries. Considering its harmful and dangerous effects,
the engagement of healthcare administrators and policymakers
and the implementation of health education programs are
essential to regulate and monitor self-medication practices (Zheng
et al.).
In summary, the articles included in the topic are related
to the transformative changes in the approach to health
professions education due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite
enormous challenges, students and educators continued
engaging through the virtual learning environment. The
use of digital technology is inevitable in future health
professions education. Educational institutions need a high
level of preparedness and establish digital infrastructure;
design online or blended curricula; explore multi-modal
approaches in online delivery and assessment; and conduct
advanced-level research to integrate digital technology in health
professions education