Background: With the advent of the 2019 coronavirus pandemic, a decision was made to remove medical students from clinical rotations for their own safety. This forced students on a core emergency medicine (EM) rotation at McMaster University to immediately cease all in-person activities. An urgent need for a virtual curriculum emerged. Methods: A virtual curriculum consisting of asynchronous case-based learning on Slack, ask-me-anything webinars, and online e-modules was created to fill the need. We describe a program evaluation using the RE-AIM framework and a social networking analysis of participants. Results: Medical students (n = 23) and 11 facilitators (five residents, six faculty members) participated in this pilot study. Faculty members sent a mean (AESD) of 115 (AE117) messages (n = 6), and mean (AESD) message counts for students and residents were 49.96 (AE25; n = 23) and 39 (AE38; n = 5), respectively. A total of 62,237 words were written by the participants, with a mean of 1,831 per person. Each message consisted of a mean (AESD) of 25 words (AE29). Students rapidly acquitted themselves to digital technology. Using the RE-AIM framework we highlight the feasibility of a virtual curriculum, discuss demands on faculty time, and reflect on strategies to engage learners. Conclusions: The use of asynchronous digital curricula creates opportunities for faculty-resident interaction and engagement. We report the successful deployment of a viable model for undergraduate EM training for senior medical students in the COVID-19 era of physical distancing. T he novel coronavirus of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in a rapid change for many medical schools; to protect students, many medical trainees (i.e., clerks) have been withdrawn from clinical rotations and asked to complete digital rotations. 1 This rapid COVID-19 transition has pushed many
Background In recent decades, the gender makeup of Canadian medical residents has approached parity. As residency training years coincide closely with childbearing years and paid parental leave is associated with numerous benefits for both parents and children, it is important for there to be clarity about parental leave benefits. Objectives We aimed to conduct a comprehensive review of maternity and parental leave policies in all residency education programs in Canada, to highlight gaps that might be improved or areas in which Canadian programs excel. Methods We searched websites of the 8 provincial housestaff organizations (PHOs) for information regarding pregnancy workload accommodations, maternity leave, and parental leave policies in each province in effect as of January 2020. We summarized the policies and analyzed their readability using the Flesch Reading Ease. Results All Canadian PHOs provide specific accommodations around maternity and parental leave for medical residents. All organizations offer at least 35 weeks of total leave, while only 3 PHOs offer extended leave of about 63 weeks, in line with federal regulations. All but 2 PHOs offer supplemental income to their residents, although not for the full duration of offered leave. All PHOs offer workplace accommodations for pregnant residents in their second and/or third trimester. Conclusions Although all provinces had some form of leave, significant variability was found in the accommodations, duration of leave, and financial benefits provided to medical residents on maternity and parental leave across Canada. There is a lack of clarity in policy documents, which may be a barrier to optimal uptake.
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