THE EFFECT OF COVID PHASES ON BASIC LIFE SUPPORT OBJECTIVE STRUCTURED CLINICAL EXAMINATIONS ( OSCEs ) WITH CHIROPRACTIC STUDENTS

Introduction: To determine if there was a statistical difference in the basic life support (BLS) OSCE grades with different teaching and testing methods used during 3 Covid-19 phases. Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of BLS OSCE grades by Covid-19 Phase, using ANOVA and KruskalWallis tests. Results: No statistical difference was found between Covid-19 phase with respect to BLS OSCE grades via ANOVA. Due to normality and n number differences, Kruskal-Wallis test was performed and revealed no significance (p=0.583). Analysis by estimation (effect size and confidence interval) revealed only a slight insignificant decrease of grades in phase 2. Discussion: ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis revealed no significance and therefore the null hypothesis cannot be rejected. Some difficulties performing BLS OSCEs online included cheating, manikin availability, positional concerns, and technical glitches. Limitations were as follows: video influences, unknown GPA influences, retrospective design, stress influences, ceiling affect and prompter affect. Conclusion: This study did not support a difference between teaching and testing methods during Covid-19 phases for BLS OSCE grades. These conclusions must be balanced with limitations. Further studies should provide a plan to eliminate or capture any main affects or interactions. (J Contemporary Chiropr 2021;4:1-7) Key Indexing Terms: Basic Life Support; Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation; Covid-19; Education; Objective Structured Clinical Examination INTRODUCTION Covid-19 surfaced in December 2019 and was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March of 2020. (1) This virus had a 3% fatality rate, varying on location (1) and age. Many governments created travel restrictions and shutdown businesses to decrease the spread of the virus, which clearly impacted including doctoral training programs. (2) These shutdowns further impacted higher learning by causing pedagogical methodologies to move toward distance learning. (2) According to the Chiropractic Educator’s Research Forum, many chiropractic doctorate programs had to modify their approaches to teaching and testing within weeks to respond to the pandemic. (3) Some chiropractic instructors at my institution created virtual classrooms, voice-over-PowerPoints (Microsoft, Redwood, WA), videos, video assignments, online formative quizzes, online summative quizzes, and online summative exams. Other models available included massively open online courses (MOOCs), recorded classes, online live interaction, tutorial, short communications, and conferences. (4) Many of these models can be accessed by computer, tablet (4) or smartphone. (5) Advantages of online and blended learning include transcending space and time, convenience, equal or slightly more effectiveness for learning, and reusability. (6) However, meta-analysis examining effectiveness in learning has shown high heterogeneity (7) and thus should be treated with caution. (6) Disadvantages include high cost of preparation, maintenance costs, platform maintenance and learners’ feeling of isolation. (6) Bajpai recommended considering the learning theory being employed to develop a course with online component to fit the intended outcomes. (8) According to Carmargo, the Covid-19 pandemic “had a catalytic effect on the change in educational processes worldwide. ” (4) Basic Life Support (BLS) is taught in many chiropractic colleges at the healthcare provider level according to the American Heart Association or American Red Cross protocols. (9) BLS includes skills such as rescue breathing, J Contemp Chiropr 2021, Volume 4 THE EFFECT OF COVID PHASES ON BASIC LIFE SUPPORT OBJECTIVE STRUCTURED CLINICAL EXAMINATIONS (OSCEs) WITH CHIROPRACTIC STUDENTS Mark E. Murdock, RN, DC Journal of