Transforming Continuing Medical Education in the COVID-19

Medical education is not immune from the heartaches produced by abrupt contemporary changes in our world, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Unexpectedly, and on very short notice, people can no longer teach or learn alongside other people. The impact on the heart of the educational processes of the health professions is unprecedented. The key concerns of yesterday, such as the need to enhance bedside learning or to enhance the experience of students in the clinical setting, in the clinical workplace, have a different meaning. Medical educators can leverage technology to enhance medical education at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Although the most recent initiatives, such as remote transmissions, have been introduced for a long time, traditional classes, lectures, and face-to-face didactic tutorials continue to be the most important cornerstone of medical education both in our country and abroad. The COVID-19 pandemic has posed challenges in medical education globally. Each society has responded according to its possibilities and needs to take advantage of this situation as a learning opportunity, continue with education, and incorporate students as health workers in the countries where it was necessary.

Workplace fun and informal learning: the mediating role of motivation to learn, learning opportunities and management support

Purpose Past research shows that workplace fun has a positive effect on informal learning, however, the role of individual and organizational mediating variables in this relation has not been studied much. This study aims to examine the role of management support, motivation to learn and learning opportunity in the relationship between workplace fun and informal learning. Design/methodology/approach In this multivariate correlation study, data were collected through questionnaires. In total, 200 employees of the petrochemical industry participated. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Findings The main finding suggests that motivation to learn contributes to informal learning. Fun in the workplace has a positive and significant indirect effect on informal learning by providing a variety of opportunities to learn; the management support in the final model also mediates the relationship between workplace fun and opportunities to learn. Practical implications The results indicate the benefits of creating and maintaining fun in the workplace to improve informal learning. The authors will be better able to advise by providing abundant resources for formal training such as time, learning climate and financial resources, workplace fun can be used as a practical strategy to promote informal learning where the workplace is fun, innovation, creativity and performance improvement occur. Managers should make arrangements to spontaneously motivate employees to learn informally and provide fun and varied opportunities for informal learning. Originality/value In this study, the multiple correlations and the effect of motivation variables, learning opportunity and management support in the relationship between workplace fun and informal learning were studied. Examining how these relationships are and identifying the moderator of this relationship because of individual and environmental differences requires further studies.

EP.TU.44Improving Access to Surgery: The F1 ‘Theatre Day’ Programme

Aims To identify barriers in theatre attendance, facilitate access and maximise learning opportunities for surgical F1s (Foundation Year 1 Doctors) at a DGH (District General Hospital). Methods Between December 2019- December 2020, each F1 doctor was offered a day to spend in elective theatre during their General Surgery rotation (excluding emergency COVID rota periods). This was following feedback from the August- December 2019 cohort. Each ‘Theatre Day’ was scheduled during normal working hours when there was sufficient staff. Post-participation questionnaires were completed. Results Prior to implementation of the Programme, 3/8 F1s surveyed had not attended any elective surgery lists (1 had not attended theatre at all). All indicated that they would have been interested in attending a timetabled elective theatre day; 88% highlighted a ‘lack of staff’ and 63% indicated that ‘feeling guilty’ were barriers in attending theatre. 21 F1s were offered a ‘Theatre Day’: 17 agreed to participate and 16 completed post-participation questionnaires. Only 47% confirmed that they were considering a career in surgery prior to participation: all agreed that spending time in theatre was a useful learning opportunity and 94% agreed that the Programme should be continued. Conclusions Spending time in theatre appears to be valued as a useful learning opportunity for F1s, whether or not they are aspiring surgeons. Common barriers to self-organised theatre attendance appear to be an anticipated ‘lack of staff’ or feelings of ‘guilt’. A senior-led scheduling of one day in theatre should circumnavigate these barriers and ensure that access is available to all.

A First Experience of Using Failure Report as a Reflective Tool in Engineering Education

The paper reports the first use of failure report as a reflective learning tool in engineering education from a university in Malaysia. Failure Report is a document that publishes and discusses failures as part of a reflective learning process for students. This reflective learning method attempts to encourage students to actually learn from failure and to take negative experiences as a learning opportunity. This paper describes the experience of introducing Failure Report as a means for engineering students to reflect their learning after completing an engineering de-sign project. The Gibbs’ Reflective Learning Model is used as the base of the reflective work. This introductory study reveals some findings on how students view and reflect on their failures and setbacks during the project work. It is noted that this was their first ever experience in doing a reflection study. Most of the students’ writing revolves around interpersonal skills like teamwork and communication. The element of ‘blame game’ is prevalent in their reports. In addition, based on this first experience, we provide several principles to follow to replicate the Failure Report activity and further recommendations for future failure reflection work.