Professionalism Standards for Virtual Learning

Rationale

In order to ensure continuous delivery of required curricular content in instances where in-person activities may not be permitted (including, but not limited to: national emergencies, public health crises, and natural disasters), the Brody School of Medicine employs the use of online platforms for virtual delivery of learning activities. Given the unique differences between in-person learning and virtual learning and the need to ensure professional etiquette in online learning, the Executive Curriculum Committee sanctioned the creation of standards for all students, faculty and staff engaged in virtual learning activities.

Scope

This procedure involves Brody School of Medicine educational administration, all instructors, and students who participate in the delivery of virtual learning activities within the required curriculum.

Definitions

BSOM: Brody School of Medicine

ECC: Executive Curriculum Committee

Virtual Learning Activities: Includes any didactic session, small or large group session, or other learning event within the required curriculum that is delivered over an online platform.

Online Platforms: Refers to the systems, software, and programs used to deliver content and learning activities in a virtual manner. These include, but are not limited to WebEx, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams.

Required Curriculum: Core components of the undergraduate medical education curriculum, spanning from the M1 year to the M4 year.

Standards: Required actions by students, staff and faculty who engage in virtual learning activities.

Best Practices: Recommendations for students, staff, and faculty who engage in virtual learning activities.

Responsibilities

Faculty

Any faculty member teaching within the required curriculum at BSOM is expected to comply with all requirements contained within these procedures. If issues arise that prevent a faculty member from following the established standards, then they must communicate with the director of the course/clerkship in which they are instructing to address the issue(s).

Students

All students at the BSOM are expected to comply with all requirements contained within these procedures. If issues arise that prevent a student from following the established standards, then they must communicate with their course/clerkship director to address the issue and determine any alternative actions that may be needed to successfully complete the virtual learning activity.

ECC

The ECC will solicit feedback from course and clerkship directors at the completion of each academic year to determine if adjustments or revisions should be considered to existing standards and best practices for professionalism in virtual learning.

Procedures for Implementation and Review

Professionalism Standards for Virtual Learning

• For all small group learning activities, cameras should be on and microphones should be muted.
• Students and Faculty should adhere to the standards of professional dress they would use for any in-person learning activity.
• All participants must have a computer with microphone and video capacity for small group sessions to allow for complete engagement in the learning experience.
• All participants must be fully engaged (i.e.–including active participation in group discussions, interaction with the instructor, etc.) in the virtual learning experience.
• Sessions must not start before their designated, scheduled time and must not run beyond their scheduled end time.
• Demonstrate grace to one another with technical challenges. In the event that a technical challenge arises, check email for further directions.
• Participants are expected to be available for the full time that a session is scheduled. Technical difficulties leading to a late start is not an excuse to not attend or participate.
• Respect other people’s privacy, do not record, edit, and/or share content expressed during virtually delivered sessions without the permission of all participants.
• In the event that a profound technical difficulty arises that necessitates use of a phone line, the participant must identify their presence to the group.

Professionalism Best Practices for Virtual Learning

• Instructors should deliver lectures from a classroom setting whenever possible to allow for preferred mediasite recordings.
• Consider the appearance and composition of your background. Avoid distracting backgrounds as you are using this in a professional context. The blur option will allow you to block out your personal surroundings and allow other participants to focus on you. Consider the lighting in the room to ensure you can be seen and place your camera at eye level.
• Use the chat box to type in questions or comments during lectures and small group discussions but avoid distracting or side conversations.
• When the faculty member naturally pauses during a lecture for questions, either use the raise hand function or unmute yourself to ask a question or provide a comment. Natural interaction is desired.
• Faculty should designate the preferred method of communication (email, learning management system, etc.) regarding content related questions and should remain cognizant that students may feel uncomfortable asking questions in class.
• Larger group sessions should appoint a moderator to help monitor the chat box.
• Any session over 90 minutes should incorporate breaks.
• Instructors are expected to be “virtually” available to students. Consider the adoption of virtual office hours.
• During virtual large group meetings and classes, video may help to facilitate meaningful discussion. Your webcam can be turned on when asking/answering questions for the simple reasons of putting a face to names and making the class more personal. Because of bandwidth concerns, please turn cameras off when not asking/answering questions.
• Faculty should respond to emails within 2 business days and learners should send a follow-up email if they have not received a response by that time.
• Out of office reminders should be set when faculty will be offline and unavailable to respond to emails.
• Small groups should consider identifying their preferred method for communicating technology issues (phone, text, remind me app, group me app, etc.)

Schedule for Review

These procedures will be reviewed and may be revised by the Executive Curriculum Committee as necessary, but at least every three years.

Applicable Laws, Regulations & Standards

LCME 3.5 Learning Environment/Professionalism