Due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, there has been no choice but to consider pausing or cancelling clinical training at schools training students in the medical field. As an alternative to clinical training, the Department of Occupational Therapy held a seminar for their 4th year students where they invited a guest speaker who had experienced spinal cord injuries.
The seminar consisted of lectures by the guest speaker, before-and-after investigative studies as well as interviews conducted by the students.
After the seminar, surveys were conducted to the students who took part. The results of this survey showed that students felt that the seminar helped them most to understand people with spinal cord injuries can move themselves, to understand how people with spinal cord injuries feel and to understand the importance of communication.
Even though the sessions were held online, the students were able to have a similar experience to clinical training through talking to the people with injuries and by taking in the visual information provided to them on the screens. Therefore, this seminar proved to be a valuable experience for the students.
However, at the same time, students still felt worried about how they can apply this in actual practice. In addition to this, there were issues relating to the event being held in an internet environment, so the teaching staff themselves require further training in this area.
As there does not seem to be an end to the spread of COVID-19, it is crucial that effective online clinical training is explored and developed.
