Designing for digital transformation of residency education – a post-pandemic pedagogical response

Abstract

Background The forced transition to emergency remote teaching (ERT) during the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted health professions education worldwide. In Sweden, the need for alternative solutions for the training of junior doctors became urgent, as many of the mandatory onsite courses required for residents to qualify as specialists were canceled. The purpose of this study was to understand course leaders' perceptions and experiences of using digital technologies, such as video conferencing, to teach medical residents (ST) during the pandemic and beyond. Methods A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews was conducted with seven course leaders responsible for residency courses during the first year of the pandemic to capture their perceptions and experiences. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic analysis, drawing on the technology affordances and constraints theory (TACT) as a framework to explore pedagogical strategies and new teaching practices emerging from the forced use of digital technologies for remote teaching. Results The data analysis revealed affordances of, as well as constraints to, teaching specialist medical training during the pandemic. The findings show that the use of digital conference technologies for ERT can both enable and inhibit social interactions, the interactive learning environment and the utilization of technological features, depending on the individual course leaders’ goals of using the technology and the situated context of the teaching. Conclusions The study reflects the course leaders' pedagogical response to the pandemic, as remote teaching became the only way to provide residency education. Initially, the sudden shift was perceived as constraining, but over time they found new affordances through the enforced use of digital technology that helped them not only to cope with the transition but also to innovate their pedagogical methods. After a rapid, forced shift from on-site to digital courses, it is crucial to utilize experiences to create better preconditions for digital technology to facilitate learning in the future.

Horizontes de la transformación digital

“…Desde la parte cualitativa, se percibe a las investigaciones con un abordaje diverso de la transformación digital. Son enfocadas en el proceso de enseñanza y aprendizaje mediado por la tecnología (Baladrón Pazos et al, 2020;Cumhur & Çam, 2021;Díaz, 2022;Erdmann et al, 2021;Noreem & Reid, 2021;Sánchez et al, 2021;Sánchez-Olmos et al, 2023;Vallo Hult et al, 2023).…”

“…No obstante, existen algunas dificultades respecto a la aplicación de la tecnología en el aprendizaje, pues tanto profesores como estudiantes carecen de experiencia para utilizar nuevas tecnologías y perciben falta de competencia en pedagogía digital (Noreem & Reid, 2021;Vallo et al, 2023). Finalmente, algunas investigaciones hicieron una serie de recomendaciones: el desarrollo de políticas y estrategias para la integración de herramientas digitales en el aula para mejorar la formación docente en tecnología educativa; un modelo de innovación digital educativa y una propuesta para desarrollar una estrategia que permita contratar, capacitar e invertir en habilidades, integrar y aprovechar los datos digitales para automatizar y aprovechar el uso del celular.…”

Digital learning about patients: An online survey of German medical students investigating learning strategies for family medical video consultations

“…The sudden need for social distancing led to emergency remote teaching, although its quality was often suboptimal. 14 – 16 However, many aspects of digital education persisted and proved effective even after the pandemic-related restrictions were eased, 17 – 19 presenting an opportunity for a more scientifically grounded educational system. 20 , 21 This extends to the integration of telemedicine learning objectives into medical school curricula.…”