Page 14 - HealthcareNews Jan_Feb 2021

HEALTHCARE WORKFORCE CONT’D
faced the overwhelming task of managing high numbers of infected patients while keeping their staff and other patients safe. Not surprisingly, clinical rotations were put on hold.
The lack of clinical access was most noticeable with nursing programs, but Karen Rousseau, dean of the School of Health Sciences at American Interna- tional College (AIC), said it had an impact on other health programs as well.
“Physical-therapy and occupational-therapy clin- ics actually closed and weren’t providing care for quite some time,” she said. “We had to delay student placements until these clinics reopened and rebuilt their patient volume.”
Over time, said Lisa Fugiel, assistant dean and director of Nursing at Springfield Technical Com- munity College (STCC), hospitals and other clinical partners have been able to gradually increase access to their facilities.
“We appreciate our practice partners finding creative ways to work with us to continue offering clinical experiences, because we can’t graduate our students without them.”
For this issue’s focus on healthcare education, faculty from area colleges spoke with HCN about how they are overcoming the challenges of preparing tomorrow’s healthcare workforce during a pandemic that still hasn’t faded.
Access Points
Classroom labs are another required part of
healthcare curriculum requiring in-person learn- ing. So, on top of clinical access, colleges had to also figure out a safe and effective way to bring students back to campus for those “
labs.
smaller groups of students for shorter durations. STCC has set up a system where a group of students works in a clinical setting for one week, and then
Christopher Scott,
dean of the School of
Health at STCC, was
part of a ‘repopulation
committee’ on campus
that recommended
limiting the number of
students per lab and
providing N95 masks for
everyone. The nature of
classroom labs requires
close contact, so there
was concern that stan-
dard masks would not effectively protect students from classmates who might have been exposed. Find- ing solutions has been an education for everyone involved.
“Our first-year students had to learn how to breathe from extended mask wearing,” Scott said, pointing out how that was not the norm prior to COVID-19.
Fugiel added that the necessity of wearing gloves, goggles, and gowns means students need to better manage their time in the lab. “When they come in, they have several extra steps to take beyond just walk- ing into the building and the classroom.”
For safety reasons, clinical rotations consist of
We appreciate our practice partners finding creative ways to work with us to continue offering clinical experiences, because we can’t graduate our students without them.”
LISAFUGIEL
switches to learning with virtual simulation models the following week.
The various regulating bodies that work with the colleges have weighed in on what’s acceptable for clinical rotations during these unique times. Depend- ing on the program, Fugiel said the accreditation boards have provided guidance that allows students to split their time among hands-on care, virtual simulation, and classroom labs in order to meet their standards.
“By doing this, our students will receive constant education and can meet the requirements of the program,” she noted. “Also, we have to keep in mind that, at any time, COVID cases could increase, and
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