Introduction: The erosion of many attributes of professionalism has raised concerns among medical educators which led to a mandatory module on Professionalism and Ethics being integrated into Postgraduate MD programmes in Sri Lanka. The transition of the face-to-face workshop to an online programme is one of the many ways the PGIM rose to the challenge of maintaining high-quality education while ensuring safety of trainees and faculty members during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although electronic learning is widely used, there is minimal research on its use in postgraduate medical education in developing countries such as Sri Lanka. This study aims to evaluate the response of postgraduate medical students to the transition of workshops on professionalism and ethics to an online platform. Method: A total of 148 of the 157 postgraduate students who completed the module in May 2020, participated in the study by filling the online semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were employed to analyze the responses to close-ended questions and the responses to open-ended questions were analyzed for recurring themes. Results: The online platform used was rated as very effective/effective by 135(91.22%) students, while 70 (47.3%) asked questions during the teaching sessions. Majority of students;141(95.27%) perceived the overall educational experience as excellent or good. Most students logged in using mobile phones, 59(39.9%) and tablet 40(27.0%), demonstrating the need to develop mobile friendly online programmes. Accessibility; a major limitation to online educational programmes in developing countries, may not be as significant as perceived to be among postgraduate medical students. Majority of students prefer a virtual mode of delivery in the future. Conclusion: The study demonstrates that students perceived the transition of the face-to-face workshop on professionalism and ethics to an online platform as a valuable educational experience. COVID-19 has adversely affected medical education all over the world. Today the classes are conducted through online platforms. Therefore, a study was conducted to evaluate the response of Sri Lankan medical postgraduate students to the transition of workshops on professionalism and ethics to an online platform.

Introduction: A Midwifery Trained Registered Nurse (MTRN) is a member of the multi-professional maternity health care team in Sri Lanka. Her contribution to the maternity care team is poorly understood, often undermined, and undefined. In the context of low- and middle-income settings where traditional midwives play a crucial role in domiciliary care, the MTRNs role as a member of the multi-professional hospital-based maternity care team has not been well-described. Objective: The study aimed to describe MTRNs' perceptions of their role in the Labor Unit within the multi-professional maternity health care team at five tertiary care hospitals in the Capitol Province of Sri Lanka. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 186 MTRNs working in labor rooms in the study setting. All MTRNs in the selected hospitals were invited and included in the sample. A postal survey was carried out using a pre-evaluated, pretested self-administered questionnaire, and descriptive statistics were derived. Results: All respondents were females, aged 27 to 60 years (mean ±SD 40 ±8.3 years). The majority (66%)was less than 45 years old. Almost all (>96%) MTRNs perceived 12 tasks of the listed tasks as their primary responsibility. Regarding other tasks, they perceived a high degree of overlap between their role and those of the doctors and midwives. Although almost all MTRNs rated the level of interprofessional collaboration from registered nurses (RNs) and doctors as average to good, nearly half (49%) of them rated support from midwives ranging from very poor to average. Conclusion: A high degree of perceived overlap between MTRNs' tasks with those of the other members of the maternity care team can cause role confusion, conflicts, and poor patient care. MTRNs' role in the Labor Unit within the multi-professional maternity health care team was controversial. Clarifying the MTRNs scope of practice will help improve interprofessional understanding of roles and responsibilities and collaboration.

Take care to avoid pitfalls in research that will result in unnecessary, invalid and misleading studies including ignorance of previous similar studies, poor study design and implementation, low validity of measurements, no predetermined statistical analysis, insufficient reporting, bias and conflicts of interest.

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