ISRRT_COVID-19_book

Educators’ experiences adapting a simulation-based course to an
online learning environment during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reshika Balakrishnan, Renate Bradley, Robert Case, Martin J. Chai, Alfred
Lam, Rahul Mohla and Niusha Nowbahari
Introduction
Since 1999, the Michener Institute of Education at UHN and the University of Toronto have
jointly administered the Medical Radiation Sciences (MRS) three-year advanced diploma and
accredited degree Program in Radiation Therapy. In this program, clinical training is
introduced at the end of the first year and is completed in year three starting after the twelveweek
Clinical Simulation Semester (CSS).
The CSS was introduced into the Program in 2009 and is intended to assess the student’s
readiness for their final clinical training. The CSS is divided into the Patient Communication,
Treatment Delivery, and Treatment Planning streams, reflecting the main areas of clinical
practice. Integration of didactic knowledge and skills was assessed with identified semester
outcomes.
The first presumptive case of COVID-19 in Canada occurred in late January, 2020, in Toronto,
Ontario and a provincial emergency was declared on March 17, 2020. With the imminent
provincial emergency looming, the Program faculty and students were mandated to quickly
pivot to an all-online learning environment on March 16, 2020, in order to complete the
winter semester as scheduled.
As the winter semester concluded in April, the faculty discussed the adaptations that would
be required for the CSS due to COVID-19. Three main issues required our attention:
videoconferencing tool, adaption of labs to an online format, and student support and
assessments within a virtual realm.
Developed strategies and innovation
In reflecting on the course competencies, faculty felt that it was possible in a virtual
environment but with specific conditions. First, the technical infrastructure had to be
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