Table 1 Factors assessed before the decision to move for virtual IPPE training

♦ College-related factors

• Availability of sites, seats, and preceptors for the IPPE training.

• Fear of placing students at risk or being responsible for the spread of infection to families/relatives.

• Fear of being responsible for the spread of the virus in the community.

• Uncertainty of the pandemic continuity and its impact on current and succeeding student training.

♦ Student-related factors

• Fear of being infected by a virus for which no curative treatment is available.

• Fear of delaying their graduation.

• Fear of compromising their training experience.

♦ Site- and preceptor-related factors

• Exceeding the capacities of training sites in the post-pandemic period.

• Spreading infection among staff of training sites.

• Limited utilization of resources for the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE).

• Limited availability of PPE in training sites.

• Limited number of staff (i.e., preceptors) working on-site to satisfy social distancing parameters.