In response to COVID-19 public health requirements, we needed to move our full day placement simulations (occurring fortnightly over 10 weeks for 50 year 2 undergraduate students each week) normally located in a purpose-built simulated hospital ward, rehabilitation gym and clinic. Within a week, we transferred this face to face experience to an online student-client interaction and interactive learning over a generic web-conferencing platform. To ensure that potential cognitive overload was minimised in the new learning environment, we continued students’ familiar learning teams and timetable. We ensured teams’ online referrals included familiar elements, adapted so relevant information could be gathered in interviews. This focused the students on communication modalities first. Only then did we re-introduce the complexity of managing multiple information sources and conflicts. With this final referral each team has six therapy sessions covering client interview, family member interview, video-mediated assessment of relevant environments or tasks, telehealth interventions (e.g., falls prevention education or exercises), and handover. We also introduced new peer feedback, structured for our renewed focus on core learning and using the fit-for-purpose Student Relationship Engagement System. No changes were made to the assessment.
The environment affords certain behaviors. Our client cases promote dynamic problem-solving, but the move online was enough alone to challenge students to respond specifically to the situation at hand. Learning was sharpened when students, like us, focused on what was important to achieve, rather than ‘usual practice’. This situation intrinsically rewarded considered skill application over rote-learning. The performance of some lower-performing students improved with the move online. Participant observers reported a greater ability to focus on their clients’ communication. Some students reported reduced performance anxiety as the supervisors switched of microphone and video, making them less obvious than even sitting well back in the room as normally happens. Students have valued the learning opportunities especially as the occupational therapy facilitators use the opportunities to reflect on their own experiences of moving to providing services through telepractice/health. To date, students have completed a written assessment (exploring their developing clinical reasoning) and their competency based assessment. Initial analysis suggests that the cohort has achieved similar grades as earlier cohorts.