Table 2 Illustrative quotes from survey responses to the open-ended question: What impact has the move towards a video conferencing format for lectures had on fellow education?
Survey responses by fellows | |
Positive | • “More compliance due to lack of need to travel between pavilions.” • “Able to attend more lectures online despite being in different pavilions and able to get speakers outside of institution more easily.” |
Mixed | • “More lectures, but less interaction and difficult to engage.” • “Many lectures are recorded, which gives the option to view at a later time if I would have otherwise missed the lecture if only offered live. However, it is also hard to have uninterrupted time without any distractions for these video lectures so I frequently find myself "double tasking" during them, which does effect the amount of knowledge I gain.” • “Easier and more comfortable to receive the lectures however we miss getting to know our co fellows, interacting.” • “Exposure to a novel disease is good but everything else has been suboptimal.” • “It's a lot more difficult to stay engaged by video but my attendance has improved since it's all by zoom.” • “Easier to attend, but also since I don't leave the work site the time is not as protected.” • “Less engaging, but the opportunity to go over the lecture again is a positive thing.” |
Negative | • “Lack of hands on didactics, procedures.” • “There is less interaction.” • “Less accountability in teaching and interaction.” • “Overall decrease in didactics and lectures; significantly less experience in pulmonary compared to critical care.” • “Less effective.” • “Lack of informal discussion surrounding lectures.” • “Unknown whether people are actually in the lecture vs just logged in the computer.” • “Lost in person interaction and used to have richer discussions and better questions.” |
Survey responses by attendings | |
Positive | • “Improved attendance at conference.” • “Easier to participate; also easier to get speakers from other centers as there is no need for travel.” • “Increased compliance with lecture schedule, increased attendance by fellows and attendings.” • “Better participation.” • “Increased attendance.” |
Mixed | • “Some improvement in accessibility at the cost of decrease in interaction and limitations on format imposed by the video medium.” • “Positive: easier attendance. Negative: camaraderie is less I think.” • “Good attendance; less in-person interactions.” • “Less interaction but more likely to be available and present.” • “I am unsure what impact it has had on the fellows. I imagine a negative impact due to the video conference format and the reduced ability to interact as a group. The number of conferences remains unchanged.” • “Great for ease of access, but has decreased the interaction between faculty and fellows.” |
Negative | • “Less in-person contact makes asking questions and assessing understanding difficult.” • “Less feedback and open forum during video conference.” • “Less discussion.” • “Interaction is limited compared to being there.” • “Often have technical problems.” • “Less Q&A interactions.” • “Decreased interaction with colleagues and faculty.” |