FACE-TO-FACE VERSUS VIRTUAL TRAINING: CAPTURING STUDENTS' VOICE

“Introduction to Teamwork” (ITT) is the first module in the longitudinal curriculum of Team FIRST, an institutionally sponsored quality enhancement plan dedicated to expanding and improving teamwork competencies for health professions and medical students at UT Southwestern. ITT includes multiple interprofessional activities which occurs yearly at a face-to-face gathering. However, due to the limitations caused by COVID-19, this large-scale event was moved to a virtual platform. Although some of the activities were easily adapted to the virtual format, others had to be redesigned completely. Implementing these changes in the three months leading up to the event posed significant challenges. This study aimed to compare students' feedback in two consecutive years of ITT using Qualitative Data Analysis (QDA). A focus group study was completed to collect student feedback on ITT 2019. For ITT 2020, students' feedback was collected using a digital survey. According to the QDA, nine themes were identified including: preparation, organization, technology, instruction, facilitators, time, format, learning content, and team dynamics. While seven of these themes were common in both years, technology and format only appeared in ITT 2020 with several comments related to the platform used (Zoom). The majority of the comments received for ITT 2019 pertained to preparation (36%), facilitators (21%), and learning content (20%). In ITT 2020, however, most comments were focused on learning content (26%), technology and facilitators (14% each), and time (12%). Results of this study can be utilized by other academic organizations planning to translate established learning modules to a virtual platform.