Faculty Service Officer, Radiation Therapy Program, Department of Oncology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, 3-12 University Terrace, 8303-112 Street NW, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2T4, Canada.
J Med Imaging Radiat Sci. 2021 Dec;52(4):505-510. doi: 10.1016/j.jmir.2021.06.007. Epub 2021 Jul 2.
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic halted in-person activities in universities and caused disruption in the usual iteration of the semesters. When the clinical environment resumed student placement, the potential health risks caused additional anxiety to the students and clinical faculty. This paper aims to examine the measures implemented to support the radiation therapy students during their first clinical placement during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2nd year radiation therapy students' first clinical placement was organized around pandemic restrictions that required new activities to support student safety and wellness. The clinical faculty team redesigned the clinical course to integrate enhanced communication, additional safety measures and mental wellness sessions, as well as making COVID-19 related resources available during the week-long orientation and throughout the semester.
Registered students were asked to participate in a 9-item survey questionnaire to gather their perspective on the effectiveness of the orientation and clinical activities during the pandemic. The responses were tabulated and independently analyzed for emergent themes by the clinical faculty.
The students reported that the combination of activities, workshops, exposure to the treatment unit and feedback from both clinical faculty and learning mentors provided the support needed for physical safety and wellness in the clinic. Identified challenges included communication with continuous masking, the timeliness of communicating evolving clinical safety protocols, and the need for enhanced coordination of interprofessional education.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought new challenges and opportunities for students and clinical faculty at the University of Alberta's Radiation Therapy department. The results of the quality improvement survey highlighted the importance and effectiveness of the redesigned clinical course, which integrated COVID-19 related activities, enhanced communication strategies, safety, wellness resources and check-ins throughout the course.
COVID-19 大流行的爆发使大学中的面对面活动停止，并打乱了学期的正常进行。当临床环境恢复学生实习时，潜在的健康风险给学生和临床教师带来了额外的焦虑。本文旨在研究在 COVID-19 大流行期间支持放射治疗学生进行首次临床实习所采取的措施。
第二年放射治疗学生的首次临床实习是围绕着大流行限制组织的，这些限制要求采取新的活动来支持学生的安全和健康。临床教师团队重新设计了临床课程，以加强沟通、增加安全措施和心理健康课程，并在为期一周的迎新和整个学期提供与 COVID-19 相关的资源。
注册学生被要求参与一项 9 项调查问卷调查，以收集他们对大流行期间迎新和临床活动的效果的看法。临床教师对这些回答进行了制表和独立分析，以发现出现的主题。
学生们报告说，各种活动、研讨会、接触治疗单元以及临床教师和学习导师的反馈为他们在诊所的身体安全和健康提供了所需的支持。确定的挑战包括与持续戴口罩的沟通、及时沟通不断变化的临床安全协议以及增强专业间教育协调的必要性。
COVID-19 大流行给阿尔伯塔大学放射治疗系的学生和临床教师带来了新的挑战和机遇。质量改进调查的结果强调了重新设计的临床课程的重要性和有效性，该课程整合了与 COVID-19 相关的活动、加强了沟通策略、安全、健康资源和整个课程的签到。
