COVID-19 stories of success: Teaching and learning in a clinical setting during a pandemic

INTRODUCTION: 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. BACKGROUND: 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. METHODS: 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. DISCUSSION: 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. CONCLUSION: 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.