COVID-19 Effects on the Performance of Respiratory Care Students’ Standardized Patient Encounters

Abstract

Background: The incorporation of clinical simulation (CS) in healthcare curriculum is relatively new, more specifically to respiratory care (RC). CS and standardized patient (SP) encounters are increasingly utilized to assess and prepare students for patient care in programs such as nursing, dental and medical schools. Preparation for this simulated experience has been offered in person for several years in our Division of RC. During the global COVID-19 pandemic, much of education has shifted virtually and daily human interactions are complicated by safety protocols and fear of viral exposure. The aim of this study was to determine if the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the UT Health San Antonio Respiratory Care’s first-year students' SP encounter performance when compared to pre-pandemic groups.

Methods: This was a retrospective review of faculty evaluations of respiratory therapy student (RTS) performance from a patient-encounter database. RTS (Bachelor's and Master's degree) engaged in an encounter with a SP presenting with cough and shortness of breath. The evaluations included 2018-2019 (pre-COVID group) and 2020 (COVID group). Faculty graded 54 different tasks (scale 1-100) to comprehensively assess interviewing skills during the simulated encounter. IRB approval was obtained.

Results: Scores from 142 students were included in the study. The COVID group scored lower on 28 (51.9%) of the 54 areas evaluated compared to pre-COVID group and in 19 (73.1%) of those areas there was a ≥15% decrease in scores. A significant decrease (P< 0.05) was found in areas such identifying themselves or their role (96.9% vs. 15%); offering water/tissue to SP when coughing (71.6% vs. 39.4%); asking for onset of symptom (69.3% vs. 33.3%); asking about health screening (65.85 vs. 46.9%), sleep quality (60.4% vs. 28.8%), diet (74.3% vs. 50%), weight changes (44.7% vs. 13.6%), and hobbies (47.7% vs. 21.2%).

Conclusions: This study demonstrated that RTS performance in this preclinical simulated encounter was negatively impacted by the COVID-19 virtual learning. Decreased in the face-to-face learning experience during the COVID-19 pandemic can negatively impact teaching of other academic areas of respiratory care programs and student performance.