Medical Diagnostic Imaging Department, College of Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Medical Diagnostic Imaging Department, College of Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Radiography (Lond). 2022 Oct;28 Suppl 1:S50-S58. doi: 10.1016/j.radi.2022.07.009. Epub 2022 Jul 19.
The overnight change in hospital practice and service delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic raises the question whether undergraduate radiography students received an adequate clinical experience. Many students had their clinical placements cancelled, deferred or replaced with simulated learning. As a way of dealing with the pandemic some hospitals were dedicated to COVID-19 patients only resulting in many elective procedures being cancelled. Many patients also chose to stay away from the hospital out of fear of infection or the desire to reduce the burden on staff. This resulted in a limited range of examinations and clinical experience for those students who were able to complete their clinical placement.
This study aims to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on the education and training of radiography students internationally in the United Kingdom Devolved Nations (UKDN) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to determine any possible impact on their future careers.
Ethical permission was sought and granted from the Research Ethics Committees (ID: 21-04-12-02 and ID:21/0032). An online survey was developed using Google Forms and link was shared with students via email.
262 students participated in the study [UAE (n = 60, 23%) and UKDN (n = 202, 77%)]. 72% stated that their clinical skills have improved and 82% were confident in the choice of radiography as a career. Participants from UAE displayed a higher tendency towards anxiety (p = 0.009). Students who were on clinical placements during the COVID-19 pandemic and worked with COVID-19 positive patients displayed less ongoing concern relating to COVID-19 (p = 0.004). 78% of the participants did not require wellbeing advice or request any type of wellbeing support from the higher education institutions (HEIs). Nevertheless, the study found that wellbeing of students was found to be negatively affected during the pandemic.
Completing clinical placement during the COVID-19 pandemic allowed the continuation of education as students were allowed to improve their skills, confidence and resilience in coping with uncertainties and challenges. Undergraduate students should not be excluded from the clinical department during subsequent waves of COVID-19 or future pandemics to ensure continued workforce planning is possible.
HEIs should find solutions to compensate students for the loss of practical experience and skills due to the decreased number of patients in some areas of radiography practice. Providing academic and career counselling can assist students achieve their professional objectives and decrease the risk of attrition and problems upon qualification.
在 COVID-19 大流行期间，医院的运作和服务发生了 overnight 的改变，这就产生了一个问题，即本科放射学专业的学生是否获得了足够的临床经验。许多学生的临床实习被取消、推迟或改为模拟学习。一些医院专门收治 COVID-19 患者，这导致许多择期手术被取消。许多患者也出于对感染的恐惧或减轻工作人员负担的愿望而选择远离医院。这使得那些能够完成临床实习的学生的检查和临床经验范围有限。
本研究旨在调查 COVID-19 对英国各地区（UKDN）和阿拉伯联合酋长国（UAE）的放射学专业学生教育和培训的影响，以确定其对他们未来职业的任何可能影响。
向研究伦理委员会（ID：21-04-12-02 和 ID：21/0032）寻求并获得了伦理许可。使用 Google 表单开发了在线调查，并通过电子邮件将链接分享给学生。
共有 262 名学生参与了这项研究[阿联酋（n=60，23%）和 UKDN（n=202，77%）]。72%的学生表示他们的临床技能有所提高，82%的学生对选择放射学作为职业有信心。来自阿联酋的参与者表现出更高的焦虑倾向（p=0.009）。在 COVID-19 大流行期间进行临床实习并与 COVID-19 阳性患者一起工作的学生，对 COVID-19 的持续担忧较少（p=0.004）。78%的参与者不需要高等教育机构（HEIs）提供福利咨询或任何类型的福利支持。然而，研究发现，学生的福利在大流行期间受到了负面影响。
在 COVID-19 大流行期间完成临床实习允许教育的继续，因为学生可以提高他们在应对不确定性和挑战方面的技能、信心和适应能力。在 COVID-19 或未来的大流行的后续浪潮中，不应该将本科生排除在临床部门之外，以确保继续进行劳动力规划成为可能。
高等教育机构应找到解决方案，弥补学生因放射学实践某些领域患者数量减少而导致的实践经验和技能的损失。提供学术和职业咨询可以帮助学生实现他们的专业目标，并降低他们毕业后的流失率和问题的风险。
