Interprofessional Education Competition During the COVID-19 Pandemic at King Saud University: Benefits and Challenges

Risperidone-Induced Hypothermia in a Cerebral Palsy Patient: A Case Report and Literature Review

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a debilitating disorder that can lead to life-long disability, with a high incidence in Saudi Arabia. Secondary epilepsy and cardiac complications are common in CP patients. We present a rare case of a 17-year-old female with CP, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), secondary epilepsy, and a history of post-cardiac arrest, with home medications carbamazepine, risperidone, and sodium valproate. The patient presented with behavioral changes, bradycardia, hypothermia, and hypotension. The patient experienced a generalized tonic-clonic seizure, which was treated. Despite initial interventions, bradycardia and hypothermia persisted. Cardiology evaluation revealed normal cardiac function. Risperidone was temporarily replaced with clonazepam and hydrocortisone, resulting in the patient's arousal and stable vital signs. During the course of hospitalization, the patient also developed watery diarrhea, which was resolved after stopping antibiotics on the sixth day. The patient was discharged after 13 days with stable vital signs and follow-up instructions. This case highlights the complexity of managing CP patients with multiple comorbidities and the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to their care. It also underscores the urgent need for further research to improve the understanding of CP and its associated complications and develop more effective management strategies.

Pharmacy students' interprofessional experience and performance in advanced pharmacy practice experience rotations amid COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction

Interprofessional education (IPE) is essential in pharmacy training, providing students with vital collaborative skills for real-world healthcare. Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) is integral to IPE, allowing students to apply their knowledge in diverse healthcare settings. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted healthcare education and raised concerns about its impact on IPE during APPE rotations. Our study investigates the pandemic's influence on pharmacy students' interprofessional interactions and APPE performance.

Objective

To assess the interprofessional experiences of fourth-year pharmacy students before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of APPE.

Methods

This retrospective observational study examined the experiences of P4 pharmacy students in the United States during APPEs before and during the pandemic. We employed electronic surveys with 21 questions to gauge interactions and interprofessional team effectiveness, employing Likert scale response options. We compared responses between the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 APPE rotations using statistical tests.

Results

Our study encompassed 83 and 86 students for the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 APPE rotations, respectively, achieving a 100% response rate. Amid the pandemic, written communications between pharmacy students and healthcare providers in general medicine rotations increased, while in-person engagement decreased. Pre-COVID, students reported higher colleague referrals and greater interprofessional utilization during ambulatory care rotations.

Conclusion

COVID-19 shifted interactions from in-person to written communication between pharmacy students and healthcare providers. Students reported decreased satisfaction with their interprofessional experiences. This research offers insights into the changing landscape of pharmacy education, helping students prepare for evolving challenges in healthcare delivery and education.

Strategies for Digital Clinical Teaching During the COVID Pandemic: A Scoping Review

Widespread "lockdowns" during the COVID pandemic in 2020-2021 restricted medical students' access to patients. We used a scoping review with exploratory thematic synthesis to examine how reports of digital clinical teaching during the first year of the COVID pandemic could inform digital clinical teaching in the post-pandemic world. We looked at strategies used and outcomes reported, lessons learned about how best to use digital methods for clinical teaching, and learning theories used. The eighty-three articles included in the final review fell into four groups. These were telehealth interventions; virtual case-based teaching; multi-modal virtual rotations; and a small group of "other" strategies. Telehealth reports indicated that COVID has probably accelerated the adoption of telehealth, and these skills will be required in future curricula. Engagement with virtual case-based teaching was problematic. Virtual rotations were particularly valued in specialties that relied on visual interpretation such as radiology and dermatology. For general clinical specialties, digital clinical teaching was not a satisfactory substitute for real clinical exposure because it lacked the complexity of usual clinical practice. Sixty-seven articles reported students' reactions only, and 16 articles reported a change in knowledge or skills. Demands on instructors were considerable. Few studies were theorized and none tested theory, which limited their transferability. While telehealth teaching may be a valuable addition to some curricula, digital clinical teaching is unlikely substantially to replace exposure to real patients outside of specialties that rely on visual interpretation. High demands on instructors suggest little potential for new, scalable digital clinical offerings after COVID.

Teaching interprofessional collaboration among future healthcare professionals

Healthcare has become more complex in recent years. Such complexity can best be addressed by interprofessional teams. We argue that to ensure successful communication and cooperation in interprofessional teams, it is important to establish interprofessional education in health-related study programs. More precisely, we argue that students in health-related programs need to develop interprofessional competencies and a common language, experience interprofessional contact, build inclusive identities and establish beliefs in the benefit of interprofessional diversity. We give examples how these goals can be implemented in interprofessional education. We also discuss challenges and future avenues for respective research healthcare professionals.

Exploring Determinants of COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance, Uptake, and Hesitancy in the Pediatric Population: A Study of Parents and Caregivers in Saudi Arabia during the Initial Vaccination Phase

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to assess COVID-19 vaccine acceptance, uptake, and hesitancy among parents and caregivers of children in Saudi Arabia during the initial rollout of pediatric COVID-19 vaccination.

METHODS

An electronic survey was used to collect data from participants who visited a COVID-19 vaccine center. The survey included demographic data, COVID-19 vaccine status among participants and their children, and reasons for vaccine acceptance or rejection. The Vaccine Hesitancy Scale (VHS) tool was also employed to assess vaccine hesitancy and attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine and routine childhood vaccination. Multivariate binary regression analysis was used to identify predictors of actual COVID-19 vaccine uptake among children.

RESULTS

Of the 873 respondents included in the analysis, 61.5% were parents and 38.5% were other caregivers. Of the participants, 96.9% had received the COVID-19 vaccine. Six hundred and ninety-four participants accepted the vaccine for their children, with the main reasons being an endorsement by the Saudi Ministry of Health (60%) and the importance of going back to school (55%). One hundred and seventy-nine participants would not vaccinate their children, with the most common reasons being fear of adverse effects (49%) and inadequate data about vaccine safety (48%). Factors such as age, COVID-19 vaccination status, self-rated family commitment level, attitudes toward routine children's vaccines, and participants' generalized anxiety disorder (GAD7) score did not significantly correlate with children's COVID-19 vaccination status. Parents were less likely to vaccinate their children compared to other caregivers, and participants with a higher socioeconomic status were more likely to vaccinate their children.

CONCLUSION

Vaccine acceptance and uptake were high during the initial pediatric COVID-19 vaccination rollout in Saudi Arabia. Still, the ongoing endorsement of the Ministry of Health and healthcare authorities should continue to advocate for better vaccine uptake in children.

Opportunity Amid Crisis in Medical Education: Teaching During the Pandemic of COVID-19

Purpose

The pandemic of COVID-19 had reinforced adaptations in medical education. It was challenging, especially for developing countries where resources were scarce. This study examined the implementation of teaching and learning adaptation during the pandemic in a low-resource country as perceived by teachers. We also present the opportunities that arise from the adaptation process.

Participants and Methods

The participants of this study (n=24) were teachers in an undergraduate medical program. This study employed a qualitative approach using focus group discussions (FGDs) to collect the teachers' perceptions. Thematic analysis was performed to analyse the data.

Results

Teachers' perceptions were categorized into 19 subthemes and were accentuated into four general themes; learning facilitation, assessment during the pandemic, learning resources, and competence achievement. We discovered both challenges as well as opportunities in each theme due to the shifting of learning from offline to online learning. Flexibility and innovation were regarded as the most important opportunities and were perceived to hold potential for medical education in the future. Knowledge acquisition was most benefited from this adaptation. Facilitating skill acquisition and burnout were the major challenges.

Conclusion

Despite the challenges, including burnout, skills acquisition, and risk in academic integrity, innovations in medical education were strengthened during the pandemic of COVID-19. They also provided a positive influence regarding achievement in the cognitive aspect. Faculty development programs need to be encouraged to improve teachers' capacity in the future.

Clinical nursing education during the COVID-19 pandemic: perspectives of students and clinical educators

Background

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has thus far disrupted clinical nursing education (CNE) around the world and in Iran; which has encountered numerous challenges to this point for students and clinical educators. Therefore, this qualitative study was conducted to identify the perspectives of nursing students and clinical educators during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

In this qualitative descriptive study, 15 participants, including nursing students and clinical educators, were selected through the purposive sampling method. The data were collected from March to September 2021 in nursing school through in-depth semi-structured interviews, and then analyzed based on the Graneheim and Lundman method.

Results

Two main themes, “CNE in the shadows of threats and opportunities” and “CNE recovery” and five themes (Injured CNE, CNE under fear, Lessons from the COVID-19 crisis, Providing optimal CNE by eradicating COVID-19, and Adapting CNE to existing conditions) were extracted from the data analysis.

Conclusions

The results of this qualitative study demonstrated that the COVID-19 pandemic had led the participants to experience new conditions, also referred to as “combined threats and opportunities”. Based on this, nursing managers and planners are advised to take great steps towards the development and improvement of CNE by considering and applying these results in their plans to overcome the challenge of CNE with effective and useful actions in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Medical and pharmacy students' perspectives of remote synchronous interprofessional education sessions

BACKGROUND

Interprofessional education (IPE) at university level is an essential component of undergraduate healthcare curricula, as well as being a requirement of many associated regulatory bodies. In this study, the perception of pharmacy and medical students' of remote IPE was evaluated.

METHODS

A series of IPE sessions took place via Zoom and students' feedback was collected after each session. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected and analysed.

RESULTS

72% (23/32) of medical students strongly agreed that the sessions had helped to improve their appreciation of the role of pharmacists, whereas 37% (22/59) of pharmacy students strongly agreed, reporting a median response of 'somewhat agreeing', that their appreciation of the role of general practitioners had improved. This difference was found to be statistically significant (p = 0.0143). Amongst students who responded, 55% (53/97) identified remote teaching as their preferred mode of delivery for an IPE session.

CONCLUSIONS

The survey demonstrated that the students valued the development of their prescribing skills as well as the ancillary skills gained, such as communication and teamwork. Remote IPE can be a practical means of improving medical and pharmacy students' understanding of each other's professional roles, as well as improving the skills required for prescribing.

The era of E-learning from the perspectives of Jordanian medical students: A cross-sectional study

Introduction

Online learning is becoming a crucial part of the educational process worldwide, especially after the recent COVID-19 pandemic. This study was designed to assess medical students’ perception toward online learning and their perceived preparedness and barriers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

An electronic-based, cross-sectional survey was used to recruit eligible students in Pharmacy, Doctor of Pharmacy, Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, and Veterinary Medicine programs at various Jordanian universities (public and private). Descriptive and linear regression analysis were conducted using S.P.S.S. software. The perception score was calculated based on a 5-point Likert scale.

Results

A total of 939 students agreed to participate in this study. The prominent category was females (n = 691, 73.6%), the median age of students was 22.0 years (IQR = 2.0), and around 56% of the students study in private universities (n = 520, 55.6%). More than half of the students reported that their experiences were unsatisfactory or very unsatisfactory (n = 510, 54.3%). The majority of students preferred face-to-face communication with their professors and colleagues and considered it more effective (n = 682, 72.6%). The median of the mean perception score was 2.4 (IQR = 1.1). Regarding challenges and barriers, more than 70% reported weak internet connection, E-learning boredom, and lack of motivation (n = 723, 77.0%).

Conclusion

This study reported inadequate satisfaction and perception towards the current experience in E-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also discussed the barriers and challenges hindering this transition, such as weak internet connection and the lack of motivation, indicating a need for implementing new pedagogies to enhance students’ experiences regarding online education.

COVID-19-Driven Improvements and Innovations in Pharmacy Education: A Scoping Review

The COVID-19 pandemic led to many colleges of pharmacy having to make major changes relating to their infrastructure and delivery of their curriculum within a very short time frame, including the transition of many components to an online setting. This scoping review sought to summarize what is known about the impact of COVID-19 on pharmacy education and the effectiveness of adaptation strategies which were put in place. PubMed, Web of Science, OVID Medline, and MedEdPortal were searched to identify pharmacy education-related articles published since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. For article inclusion, the following criteria had to be met: described original research, related directly to PharmD or PharmBS education, related to the impact of COVID-19 on pharmacy education, and was available in English. Out of a total of 813 articles, 50 primary research articles were selected for inclusion. Our review of these identified four domains relating to the impact of COVID-19 on pharmacy education and/or effectiveness of adaptation strategies: (1) lab-based courses and activities (including interprofessional education activities), (2) experiential education, (3) didactic education, and (4) student well-being. The key research findings are summarized and discussed. While the COVID-19 pandemic has clearly brought many challenges to pharmacy education, it has also led to key improvements and innovations.

Psychometric appraisal of the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) Arabic-version

Interprofessional education within healthcare has been shown to have many benefits, however, it is a relatively new educational concept within the Arabic setting. Although the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale is a commonly utilised tool to examine student attitudes, there is a lack of evidence for use of an Arabic translated version. The aim of this study was to develop and psychometrically evaluate an Arabic language version of the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale with Saudi nurses. Two independent translators, proficient in both English and Arabic languages, completed a forward-backward translation of the original English version of the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale. Subsequently, this Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale-Arabic version was used to collect data from undergraduate nursing students enrolled at a number of Saudi Arabian universities. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses were then performed on the scale. Six hundred and fifty-two participants were recruited. Exploratory Factor Analysis of the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale-Arabic version resulted in a 15-item, three-factor model. Subsequent analysis with Confirmatory Factor Analysis and the resultant final 13-item model demonstrated a poor fit between the hypothesized model and the data. Although our three-factor model is supported by previous studies, the proposed model did not perform well on Confirmatory Factor Analysis assessment. This suggests that there may be issues of applicability of the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale-Arabic version within the current cohort. The present study of the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale-Arabic version has demonstrated some psychometric inadequacies and thus it is possible that this scale may not be appropriate for use with Saudi nurses. However further research with different professional groups is suggested to fully explore its utility within the Saudi setting.