Innovative pedagogical methods of delivering regular pediatrics online education within a hospital setting during COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction: The current COVID19 pandemic has resulted in significant disruption to hospital-based teaching as social distancing measures have placed us in a challenging position where education can no longer occur conventionally Innovative pedagogical methods such as webinars, virtual simulations, webcasting and online chatrooms are growing rapidly within medical education Methods: PADLET is an online virtual learning platform that allows students and teachers to collaborate, reflect, share links, videos and presentations within a secure location MS Teams is a chat-based collaboration platform that allows document sharing and online meetings The aim of this study was to assess the feedback on feasibility and impact of effectiveness via a survey with all participants involved in using PADLET and MS Teams Results: A total of 52 PADLET and MS Team sessions were held between 1st March 2020 to 20th June 2020 Responses were received from 30 members of the pediatric clinical team 11 Consultants;6 GP trainees;5 pediatric trainees;4 APNPs, 1 foundation trainee;1 clinical fellow;1 physician associate and 1 ED trainee 96% surveyed found both the PADLET and MS Teams easy to use The main benefit of the sessions were ability to access education remotely either whilst shielding, at home or when in hospital due to rota patterns Technical difficulties e g poor audio and lack of social interactions were the most commonly stated disadvantages 86% of those surveyed accessed PADLET and MS Teams for education and learning with 47% accessing for CPD education points 30% also accessed the material for guidance on a specific topic Conclusions: PADLET and MS Teams are shown to be effective in mitigating the disruption of pediatric education due to COVID19 pandemic Online and virtual learning technologies may provide a solution to current challenges faced in the era of COVID19 and should be considered as an educational strategy transferable to all medical disciplines