Lessons learned from navigating the COVID pandemic in a health sciences university: a disaster medicine perspective

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about an unexpected transformation in teaching and learning across health professions education, necessitating an unprecedented operational shift. When exploring the factors at play in this shift, it is useful to analyse the pandemic response in terms of the field of disaster scholarship. This paper employs a qualitative case study methodology to review the application of a disaster framework to one health sciences university’s response to the pandemic. It aims to identify the factors that facilitated the university’s dramatic operational shift, with a particular focus on leadership and culture. The research questions were: (1) How does the application of a disaster framework enhance our understanding of a health sciences university’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic? (2) What implications does a disaster preparedness focus have for leaders within health professions education? The data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 4 of the university’s senior leaders and focus groups with 53 staff and 48 students across campuses in Ireland and Bahrain. Ciottone’s disaster cycle provided the conceptual lens, and framework analysis was used to guide the data interpretation process. The analysis found that IT infrastructure and digital education, an empowering and supportive organisational culture, and a facilitatory leadership style facilitated the disaster response. The disaster scenario created a window of opportunity for innovation, collaboration, and problem-solving, but posed challenges for maintaining the momentum of change and ensuring student wellbeing. In preparing for future disruptions, consideration should be given to fostering a sense of purpose for students to enhance wellbeing.