Medical Student Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Initial Experiences Implementing a Virtual Interventional Radiology Elective Course

Abstract

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic reducing medical student presence on clinical services and in classrooms, academic institutions are utilizing a virtual format to continue medical student education. We describe a successful initial experience implementing a virtual elective in interventional radiology (IR) and provide the course framework, student feedback, and potential improvements. Materials and methods: A 2-week virtual IR elective curriculum was created utilizing a combination of synchronous and asynchronous learning and the "flipped" classroom educational model. Students virtually participated in daily IR resident education conferences, resident-led case review sessions, and dedicated lectures. Asynchronous prelearning material consisted of text and video correlating to lecture topics. Anonymous precourse and postcourse surveys were sent to all participating students (n = 10). Results: Ten students (100%) completed precourse and seven (70%) completed postcourse surveys. Enrolled students were considering residencies in surgery (50%), internal medicine (40%), interventional radiology (30%), and/or diagnostic radiology (30%). Students' understanding of what IRs do and the procedures they perform (p < 0.001), when to consult IR for assistance in patient management (p = 0.005), and the number of IR procedures students could recall (p = 0.015) improved after the course. Case-review sessions and virtual lectures ranked as having the highest education value. Students recommended additional small-group case workshops. Conclusion: This successful virtual IR elective provides a framework for others to continue IR medical student education during the pandemic and grow the specialty's presence within an increasingly virtual medical school curriculum. The described model may be modified to improve IR education beyond the COVID-19 era.

Curriculare Lehre während der COVID-19-Pandemie

“…Auch wenn es sich bei dieser Arbeit nur um die Evaluation eines Kurses handelt, zeigen die Daten, dass onlinebasierte Lehrkonzepte in der Radiologie vielfältig anwendbar sind, und es sich dabei, vergleichbar zu Studien aus Amerika und Großbritannien [2][3][4][5][6]11], um ein zukunftsträchtiges Konzept handelt. Daher sollte man an der weiteren Optimierung der Onlinelehre arbeiten.…”

Flipped Classroom in Higher Education: A Bibliometric Analysis and Proposal of a Framework for its Implementation

“…Preclass activities allow students to use their learning time independently to acquire fundamental knowledge and skills. While during classes (face-to-face or synchronous), students participate individually and collaboratively, receiving individualized support from the professor [10]- [12]. Classroom activities are student-centred, emphasizing active learning, where the teacher helps the student and not just provides information; this makes them self-directed learners [4], [13], [14].…”

“…In this context, the covid-19 has accelerated the demand for digital transformation in higher education institutions and professors have been challenged to achieve adaptability and flexibility in the content and design of courses for learning in different training areas. With this, the disruption of traditional teaching becomes evident with online learning models, where the FC has found the most favourable ground to be used and developed with new particularities and demands [12], [16], [18], [19].…”

“…However, once the pedagogical proposal is defined, teaching-learning strategies will be designed with the use of ICT and didactics to achieve the competences foreseen in the pedagogical design. Authors such as Kim et al [20], Lo & Hwang [21], DePietro et al [12] and Hew et al [18] used the framework as a tool that provides a cohesive structure with validated components. It is adaptable because it allows for different learning styles and areas to be worked with according to the needs of professors and students.…”

Exploring the Efficacy of Implementing an Online Interventional Radiology Course to Medical Students During COVID-19

“…I read with great interest the article entitled "Medical Student Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Initial Experiences Implementing a Virtual Interventional Radiology Elective Course" (DePietro et al, 2020), especially as a fourth-year medical student who has just completed a BSc: Radiological Imaging Sciences-intercalated degree (iBSc) in 2019/2020 in the United Kingdom. The constraints of the pandemic resulted in my completion of the degree online, thereby affording me the lived experience and a deep insight into the participants' journey of DePietro and colleagues' study.…”