Covid-19: HKUMed at the Vanguard
HKUMed has four MOOCs (massive open online courses), which provide the public with free access to specially designed classes led by our professors. Before the pandemic, two MOOCs had been launched, Epidemics I and Epidemics II, and since then Epidemics III and IV have been introduced with COVID-19 content, featuring top instructors in HKUMed as well as some of our international collaborators. Together, the four courses provide an accessible overview of the fundamental scientific principles underlying epidemics and the public health responses to prevent and control them. MOOCs Safe In-person Examinations HKUMed sailed through the significant challenge posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in conducting in-person statutory examinations for professional degrees in spring/summer 2020. All examinations were successfully held to the required standards without a single case of cross-infection. Stringent infection control protocols were developed for the MBBS Final Summative Assessment, with nine written and five clinical examinations held during the April-May peak of the pandemic. All students and staff members involved had to submit a health declaration form one day before each examination; only those with no issues declared could take part. In addition to universal precautions, all personnel also had their body temperature measured by nurses at the venue on the day of the examination. In the examination halls, candidates’ seats were separated by a two- metre radius to ensure safe distancing. There were also medical doctors stationed on site to oversee the infection control measures. For clinical examinations involving physical contact, a PCR test was arranged for participating members of the public, staff and students a couple of days in advance of the examination, giving all participants a further level of protection and reassurance. In cases where students were initially barred from the examination but subsequently found to be COVID-19 negative, most were scheduled to sit the examination early as their first attempt. A total of 195 MBBS graduates passed the qualifying examinations and proceeded to internships in July 2020. The same infection control measures were adopted in subsequent examinations for Chinese Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, and junior MBBS students, which were held over the summer. In total, more than 1,000 PCR tests were performed for various examinations. As of 30/10/2020 25
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