‘Vi-R(e)al’ Learning Methods: Opportunity amidst adversity
‘Learn to see, learn to hear, learn to feel, learn to smell, and know that by practice alone can you become expert’
—Sir William Osler
Cardiology training in most parts of the world involves rotations in the outpatient department, inpatient services, non-invasive imaging laboratories, and cardiac catheterization laboratories with or without dedicated research time based on each programme and individual.1–4 As per the World Health Organization, COVID-19 has been a pandemic since 11 March 2020.5 In most places, specialists and trainees of different specialties have started managing patients with COVID, as it was and still is the need of the hour globally. As a consequence, Cardiology Fellows across the world have had a significant impact on their training,6 teaching and procedural volumes.
The Department of Cardiology at SRIHER,7 Chennai, India has observed this deficiency and made substantial changes to our curriculum focusing on virtual meetings starting from the end of March 2020. Virtual meetings included journal clubs, seminars, technical aspects of procedures, and clinical case presentations. Although most of the topics were informative and educational, the virtual case presentations were perceived to be the most interesting. Initially, it was conducted by our own faculties to our departmental Fellows; later, we realized that such virtual case presentations would be the ‘new normal’ during this COVID pandemic for all the Fellows in the country. This encouraged us to conduct the same as an e-course for the benefit of the fellows.
Currently, we are undertaking a series of virtual case presentations, which are being chaired by eminent faculties from several institutes of national importance in India. Though there is no parallel to bedside teaching, these virtual case presentations and lectures conducted by distinguished faculties across the country brought a significant impact on the education of our fellows. We believe that an involvement from major societies across the globe in these types of activities that are focused on future leaders is paramount importance. We have described in brief the advantages and disadvantages of the virtual learning series in Table 1.
Advantages and disadvantages of ‘Vi-R(e)al’ learning methods
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Only way of learning during COVID era | It can never replace bedside teaching |
| Increases the knowledge base | Cost associated with devices and internet services |
| Creates a new field for interaction of students and faculties from different institutions thereby decreasing the disparities of training between different centres | Need to have good spectrum of internet service to have better audio and video qualities |
| Provides a platform to clear doubts by many people at a time | Eye to eye co-ordination is missed which may affect the attention of the candidate or participants |
| Improves the candidate and examiners relationship | |
| Multiple topics can be discussed while discussing the main issue |
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Only way of learning during COVID era | It can never replace bedside teaching |
| Increases the knowledge base | Cost associated with devices and internet services |
| Creates a new field for interaction of students and faculties from different institutions thereby decreasing the disparities of training between different centres | Need to have good spectrum of internet service to have better audio and video qualities |
| Provides a platform to clear doubts by many people at a time | Eye to eye co-ordination is missed which may affect the attention of the candidate or participants |
| Improves the candidate and examiners relationship | |
| Multiple topics can be discussed while discussing the main issue |
Advantages and disadvantages of ‘Vi-R(e)al’ learning methods
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Only way of learning during COVID era | It can never replace bedside teaching |
| Increases the knowledge base | Cost associated with devices and internet services |
| Creates a new field for interaction of students and faculties from different institutions thereby decreasing the disparities of training between different centres | Need to have good spectrum of internet service to have better audio and video qualities |
| Provides a platform to clear doubts by many people at a time | Eye to eye co-ordination is missed which may affect the attention of the candidate or participants |
| Improves the candidate and examiners relationship | |
| Multiple topics can be discussed while discussing the main issue |
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Only way of learning during COVID era | It can never replace bedside teaching |
| Increases the knowledge base | Cost associated with devices and internet services |
| Creates a new field for interaction of students and faculties from different institutions thereby decreasing the disparities of training between different centres | Need to have good spectrum of internet service to have better audio and video qualities |
| Provides a platform to clear doubts by many people at a time | Eye to eye co-ordination is missed which may affect the attention of the candidate or participants |
| Improves the candidate and examiners relationship | |
| Multiple topics can be discussed while discussing the main issue |
As Sir Osler rightly said, ‘The very first step towards the success of any occupation is to become interested in it’. We see Fellows taking interest in attending such virtual case presentations where they gain knowledge from different groups of faculties, which widens their horizons.
This COVID pandemic enabled us to search for opportunities amidst adversity that inspired such virtual case presentations and drove us to adapt by using e-simulation techniques to help surgical or intervention-oriented fields. We feel that while the virtual teaching sessions can never replace Osler’s method of bedside learning, they will strengthen its value by complementing it in real-time, leading to a new-era of teaching which we call ‘Vi-R(e)al’ learning methods. We define ‘Vi-R(e)al’ learning methods as a futuristic learning tool where e-forums, courses, and simulations will be taught by national and international experts. We believe that such a method will improve training globally and aid in serving humanity better. We also believe that ‘Vi-R(e)al’ learning methods could soon become the norm for the future, to increase knowledge base and decrease disparities in training between different centres.
‘The learned make each land their own, in every city find a home;
Who, till they die; learn nought, along what weary ways they roam!’
As expressed in the above translated couplet from the Thirukkural,8 which was written over 2000 years ago by the acclaimed Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar, wherein he pondered that education would open a gateway to the world and in true sense we are living that vision today by uniting global education through web-based platforms.
Conflict of interest: none declared.
References
References are available as supplementary material at European Heart Journal online.
