Exploring the challenges of virtual internships during the COVID-19 pandemic and their potential influence on the professional identity of health professions students: A view from Qatar University
IntroductionCOVID-19 has imposed many shared limitations on medical and health education. Just like other health professions programs at most institutions, the Qatar University health cluster (QU Health) applied a containment approach and shifted all learning online, and onsite training was replaced...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-01-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Medicine |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2023.1107693/full |
| _version_ | 1811175341790593024 |
|---|---|
| author | Hiba Bawadi Rula Shami Alla El-Awaisi Ayad Al-Moslih Hanan Abdul Rahim Xiangyun Du Joyce Moawad Ghadir Fakhri Al-Jayyousi |
| author_facet | Hiba Bawadi Rula Shami Alla El-Awaisi Ayad Al-Moslih Hanan Abdul Rahim Xiangyun Du Joyce Moawad Ghadir Fakhri Al-Jayyousi |
| author_sort | Hiba Bawadi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionCOVID-19 has imposed many shared limitations on medical and health education. Just like other health professions programs at most institutions, the Qatar University health cluster (QU Health) applied a containment approach and shifted all learning online, and onsite training was replaced by virtual internships (VIs) during the first wave of the pandemic. Our study aims to explore the challenges of virtual internships during the COVID-19 pandemic and their influence on the professional identity (PI) of the health cluster students from the College of Medicine, the College of Health Sciences, and the College of Pharmacy at Qatar University.MethodsA qualitative approach was employed. In total, eight focus groups with students (N = 43) and 14 semi-structured interviews with clinical instructors from all the health cluster colleges were conducted. Transcripts were analyzed following the inductive approach.ResultsThe major challenges reported by students were mainly related to the lack of the required skills for navigating the VI, professional and social stressors, the nature of VIs and the quality of learning, technical and environmental issues, and the development of students' professional identity in an alternative internship environment. The challenges relating to the development of professional identity included: limited clinical (practical) experience, a lack of experience in fighting a pandemic, a lack of communication and feedback, and a lack of confidence in meeting the internship's goals. A model was constructed to represent these findings.DiscussionThe findings are important in identifying the inevitable barriers to virtual learning for health professions students and provide a better understanding of how such challenges and different experiences would be affecting the development of their PI. Hence, students, instructors, and policymakers alike should strive to minimize these barriers. Since physical interactions and patient contact are indispensable components of clinical teaching, these extraordinary times demand innovations involving technology and simulation-based teaching. There is a need for more studies that are focused on determining and measuring the short- and long-term effects of the VI on students' PI development. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T19:35:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6da45f74f7d5498e9149f7c96eeb6339 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-858X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T19:35:35Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-6da45f74f7d5498e9149f7c96eeb63392023-01-30T07:10:15ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Medicine2296-858X2023-01-011010.3389/fmed.2023.11076931107693Exploring the challenges of virtual internships during the COVID-19 pandemic and their potential influence on the professional identity of health professions students: A view from Qatar UniversityHiba Bawadi0Rula Shami1Alla El-Awaisi2Ayad Al-Moslih3Hanan Abdul Rahim4Xiangyun Du5Joyce Moawad6Ghadir Fakhri Al-Jayyousi7Department of Human Nutrition, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, QatarDepartment of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, QatarCollege of Pharmacy, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, QatarCollege of Medicine, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, QatarDepartment of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, QatarCollege of Education, Qatar University, Doha, QatarDepartment of Human Nutrition, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, QatarDepartment of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, QatarIntroductionCOVID-19 has imposed many shared limitations on medical and health education. Just like other health professions programs at most institutions, the Qatar University health cluster (QU Health) applied a containment approach and shifted all learning online, and onsite training was replaced by virtual internships (VIs) during the first wave of the pandemic. Our study aims to explore the challenges of virtual internships during the COVID-19 pandemic and their influence on the professional identity (PI) of the health cluster students from the College of Medicine, the College of Health Sciences, and the College of Pharmacy at Qatar University.MethodsA qualitative approach was employed. In total, eight focus groups with students (N = 43) and 14 semi-structured interviews with clinical instructors from all the health cluster colleges were conducted. Transcripts were analyzed following the inductive approach.ResultsThe major challenges reported by students were mainly related to the lack of the required skills for navigating the VI, professional and social stressors, the nature of VIs and the quality of learning, technical and environmental issues, and the development of students' professional identity in an alternative internship environment. The challenges relating to the development of professional identity included: limited clinical (practical) experience, a lack of experience in fighting a pandemic, a lack of communication and feedback, and a lack of confidence in meeting the internship's goals. A model was constructed to represent these findings.DiscussionThe findings are important in identifying the inevitable barriers to virtual learning for health professions students and provide a better understanding of how such challenges and different experiences would be affecting the development of their PI. Hence, students, instructors, and policymakers alike should strive to minimize these barriers. Since physical interactions and patient contact are indispensable components of clinical teaching, these extraordinary times demand innovations involving technology and simulation-based teaching. There is a need for more studies that are focused on determining and measuring the short- and long-term effects of the VI on students' PI development.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2023.1107693/fullvirtual trainingprofessional identityuniversity studentsCOVID-19Qatarhealth professions |
| spellingShingle | Hiba Bawadi Rula Shami Alla El-Awaisi Ayad Al-Moslih Hanan Abdul Rahim Xiangyun Du Joyce Moawad Ghadir Fakhri Al-Jayyousi Exploring the challenges of virtual internships during the COVID-19 pandemic and their potential influence on the professional identity of health professions students: A view from Qatar University Frontiers in Medicine virtual training professional identity university students COVID-19 Qatar health professions |
| title | Exploring the challenges of virtual internships during the COVID-19 pandemic and their potential influence on the professional identity of health professions students: A view from Qatar University |
| title_full | Exploring the challenges of virtual internships during the COVID-19 pandemic and their potential influence on the professional identity of health professions students: A view from Qatar University |
| title_fullStr | Exploring the challenges of virtual internships during the COVID-19 pandemic and their potential influence on the professional identity of health professions students: A view from Qatar University |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring the challenges of virtual internships during the COVID-19 pandemic and their potential influence on the professional identity of health professions students: A view from Qatar University |
| title_short | Exploring the challenges of virtual internships during the COVID-19 pandemic and their potential influence on the professional identity of health professions students: A view from Qatar University |
| title_sort | exploring the challenges of virtual internships during the covid 19 pandemic and their potential influence on the professional identity of health professions students a view from qatar university |
| topic | virtual training professional identity university students COVID-19 Qatar health professions |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2023.1107693/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hibabawadi exploringthechallengesofvirtualinternshipsduringthecovid19pandemicandtheirpotentialinfluenceontheprofessionalidentityofhealthprofessionsstudentsaviewfromqataruniversity AT rulashami exploringthechallengesofvirtualinternshipsduringthecovid19pandemicandtheirpotentialinfluenceontheprofessionalidentityofhealthprofessionsstudentsaviewfromqataruniversity AT allaelawaisi exploringthechallengesofvirtualinternshipsduringthecovid19pandemicandtheirpotentialinfluenceontheprofessionalidentityofhealthprofessionsstudentsaviewfromqataruniversity AT ayadalmoslih exploringthechallengesofvirtualinternshipsduringthecovid19pandemicandtheirpotentialinfluenceontheprofessionalidentityofhealthprofessionsstudentsaviewfromqataruniversity AT hananabdulrahim exploringthechallengesofvirtualinternshipsduringthecovid19pandemicandtheirpotentialinfluenceontheprofessionalidentityofhealthprofessionsstudentsaviewfromqataruniversity AT xiangyundu exploringthechallengesofvirtualinternshipsduringthecovid19pandemicandtheirpotentialinfluenceontheprofessionalidentityofhealthprofessionsstudentsaviewfromqataruniversity AT joycemoawad exploringthechallengesofvirtualinternshipsduringthecovid19pandemicandtheirpotentialinfluenceontheprofessionalidentityofhealthprofessionsstudentsaviewfromqataruniversity AT ghadirfakhrialjayyousi exploringthechallengesofvirtualinternshipsduringthecovid19pandemicandtheirpotentialinfluenceontheprofessionalidentityofhealthprofessionsstudentsaviewfromqataruniversity |