Arunaz Kumar

Introduction: We implemented a safety bundle for operative vaginal birth, including routine intrapartum ultrasound to assess fetal position, a structured team time‐out and procedural checklist, a birth experience survey and postnatal debrief pathway. This study assesses maternity staff experience of implementing this bundle. Materials and Methods: This mixed‐methods study involved four maternity hospitals in Australia. Surveys sent to maternity staff sought feedback on the bundle for 12‐months following implementation using Likert‐style and free‐text questions. Likert‐style responses were compared in the first and second 6 months, as well as between obstetric and midwifery, and senior and junior clinical roles. Results from quantitative and qualitative analysis of survey data guided further in‐depth qualitative enquiry using semi‐structured interviews in a sequential convergent design. Results: There were 117 survey responses from obstetric ( n = 27) and midwifery ( n = 90) staff, including senior ( n = 55) and junior ( n = 62) roles. In the second 6 months, staff more often reported using the bundle “Always” or “Most of the time” (90% vs. 69%, p = 0.003), that the bundle improved accuracy of clinical assessment (85% vs. 69%, p = 0.018), communication with the woman (79% vs. 44%, p = 0.002), woman's birth experience (73% vs. 42%, p = 0.003), and 93% reported improved safety. Responses were similar between obstetric and midwifery staff, and junior and senior staff. Qualitative analysis identified improved safety culture with five underlying themes summarized by the acronym CALMER: clarity and transparency, agency and empowerment, learning and agility, mutuality and engagement, resourcing and feasibility. Conclusions: Maternity staff perceived significant improvement in safety culture with the implementation of an operative vaginal birth safety bundle.

This study aims at evaluating the role of Monash Online Simulated Clinical Examination (MONSCE, where students demonstrate their clinical consultation, problem solving and counselling skills in a virtual encounter) in relation to the Observed Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). The study addresses feasibility and application, student, tutor and Simulated Patient (SP) acceptance and also assessing future role in student assessment.

To explore student perceptions of learning and interprofessional aspects of obstetric and neonatal emergencies through online simulation-based workshops.

Background: Blended teaching combines traditional in‐person components (simulation‐based training and clinical‐based placement) with online resources. Due to the COVID‐19 pandemic, we modified our Women's Health Interprofessional Learning through Simulation (WHIPLS) program – to develop core obstetric and gynaecological skills – into a blended teaching program. There is limited literature reporting the observations of blended teaching on learning.Aims: To qualitatively evaluate the blended teaching program and explore how it contributes to learning.Materials and Methods: This study was performed at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. A total of 98 medical students and 39 midwifery students participated. Data were collected by written survey and analysed by authors using a thematic analysis framework.Results: Students reported that in‐person teaching remains a vital aspect of their curriculum, contributing an averaged 63.2% toward an individual's learning, compared with online. Five substantial themes demonstrate how students learnt and maximised education opportunities using a blended teaching program: ‘low‐pressure simulation environments’, ‘peer‐assisted learning’, ‘haptic learning’, ‘scaffolded learning’ and ‘the impact of online discourse’.Discussion: In‐person teaching remains a cornerstone of obstetric and gynaecological clinical skills education, of which interprofessional simulation and clinical‐based placement are key components. Teaching via online discourse alone, is not sufficient to completely replace and provide comparable learning outcomes, but certainly plays an important role to prime students' learning and to maximise in‐person opportunities and resources. Our study reveals key pedagogies of a blended (online and in‐person) learning program, providing further evidence to support its ongoing utility as a feasible and warranted approach to learning.

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Background: Due to the complex nature of healthcare professionals’ roles and responsibilities, the education of this workforce is multifaceted and challenging. It relies on various sources of learning from teachers, peers, patients and may focus on Work Integrated Learning (WIL). The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted many of these learning opportunities especially those in large groups or involving in person interaction with peers and patients. Much of the curriculum has been adapted to an online format, the long-term consequence of which is yet to be recognized. The changed format is likely to impact learning pedagogy effecting both students and teachers. This requires a systematic approach to evaluation of online teaching and learning adaptation, in comparison to the previous format, where, in person education may have been the focus. Methods: The proposed study is a broad based evaluation of health professional education in a major Australian University. The protocol describes a mixed methods convergent design to evaluate the impact of online education on students and teachers in health professional courses including Medicine, Nursing, Allied Health and Biomedical Science. A framework, developed at the university, using Contribution Analysis (CA), will guide the evaluation. Quantitative data relating to student performance, student evaluation of units, quantity of teaching activities and resource utilization will be collected and subjected to relevant statistical analysis. Data will be collected through surveys (500 students and 100 teachers), focus groups (10 groups of students) and interviews of students and teachers (50 students beyond graduation and 25 teachers, for long term follow up to 12 months). Application of CA will be used to answer the key research questions on the short term and long-term impact of online education on teaching and learning approaches. Discussion: The protocol describes the study, which will be widely implemented over the various courses in Health Professional Education and Biomedical Science. It will evaluate how students and teachers engage with the online delivery of the curriculum, student performance, and resources used to implement these changes. It also aims to evaluate longitudinal outcome of student learning attributes and impact on graduate outcomes, which is poorly reported in educational literature.