JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated the adoption and implementation of digital technologies to help transform the educational ecosystem and the delivery of care.

Objective:

This study aimed to generate an understanding of instructors’ and learners’ perceptions regarding the effectiveness of virtual training amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This study also sought to understand the challenges and opportunities towards the implementation of virtual training in the context of healthcare settings.

Methods:

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with education specialists and healthcare staff who provided or had taken part in a virtual instructor-led training at a large Canadian academic health sciences center. Guided by the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Community of Inquiry (COI) framework, interview transcripts underwent deductive and inductive thematic analysis.

Results:

Of the 18 individuals participating in the study, 9 were education specialists, 5 were learners, 3 were program coordinators, and 1 was a senior manager at the centre for learning, innovation and simulation. The findings from this study emphasized three predominant themes related to: engaging the learners, challenges with the virtual platform, and enhancing the virtual user experience.

Conclusions:

This study adds to the literature on designing and implementing virtual training in healthcare organizations by highlighting the importance of recognizing learners’ needs and maximizing the transfer of learning. Findings from this study can be used to help inform the design and development of training strategies to support learners across the organization during the current climate and ensure these changes are sustained.