Articles: coronavirus.
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Ann Med Surg (Lond) · Oct 2020
Understanding the consequence of COVID-19 on undergraduate medical education: Medical students' perspective.
The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has significantly influenced the normal operations of all human affairs on a global scale. Indeed, the pandemic has had a considerable impact on the delivery of medical education in the UK for both pre-clinical and clinical year students. In response to the escalating case fatality rate due to the pandemic, there has been widespread termination of clinical placements, face-to-face teaching sessions, and examinations that require a physical presence by UK medical schools. ⋯ Despite the resultant complications of the pandemic on medical education, these challenging times may present a serendipitous opportunity for medical students to cultivate the personal attributes expected of a doctor in the face of adversity. In light of the pandemic, there is scope to reconsider the effectiveness of current medical education and welcome innovative methods of delivering education whilst ensuring quality. The combination of recent telecommunication developments with current teaching methodologies may positively change the future landscape of medical education.
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To evaluate the performance of the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation retrieval team at a high-volume extracorporeal membrane oxygenation center during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. ⋯ Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation retrieval can rescue young, previously healthy patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 in whom all the conventional respiratory measures have failed. Thrombotic and hemorrhagic complications are frequent in this cohort.
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Prior to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, telehealth was rarely utilized for oncologic care in metropolitan areas. Our large New York City based outpatient breast/gynecologic cancer clinic administered an 18-question survey to patients from March to June 2020, to assess the perceptions of the utility of telehealth medicine. Of the 622 patients, 215 (35%) completed the survey, and of the 215 respondents, 74 (35%) had participated in a telehealth visit. ⋯ Sixty-eight patients (92%) reported that telehealth services saved them time, 54 (73%) reported telehealth increased access to care, and 58 (82%) reported telehealth improved their health. Overall, 67 (92%) of patients expressed satisfaction with the use of telehealth services for oncologic care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Telehealth services should be carefully adopted as an addition to in-person clinical care of patients with cancer.
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With more than three billion people in isolation, the status of digital spaces is switching from an amenity to a necessity, as they become not only the main way to access information and services, but also one of the only remaining vectors for economic, educational, and leisure activities as well as for social interactions to take place. However, not all are equals in terms of access to networks or connected devices, or when it comes to the skills required to navigate computerized spaces optimally. Digital inequalities were already existing, yet the COVID-19 crisis is exacerbating them dramatically. ⋯ We first describe how digital inequalities are a determinant of health. We then investigate how COVID-19 can potentiate digital inequalities, and how digital inequalities potentiate vulnerability to COVID-19. Finally, in order to contribute to the mitigation of this crisis, we propose a set of multi-layered strategies focusing on actionability that can be implemented at multiple structural levels, ranging from governmental to corporate and community levels.