DEVELOPMENT OF NEW SKILLS FOR MEDICAL STUDENTS IN PANDEMIC CONTEXT

The present paper presents the results of an Erasmus+ project entitled � Development of New Skills for Medical Students in Pandemic Context. For most of the medical universities digital readiness/capacity was found unprepared for the COVID induced changes toward on-line education. Now, after 2 years, on line education is not anymore a novelty in higher education. But, especially for medical students, the problem raised during COVID pandemics was to follow practical stages. Telemedicine is a solution adopted in many countries both for medical as for educational services. By our approach we address not only the need to harness the potential of digital technologies for teaching and learning but also to equip students with digital skills as needed in present contexts of recovery after pandemic. The proposed solutions are in line with the digital transformation that Europe needs in the educational medical field. They will increase the capacity and readiness of participant HEIs to manage an effective shift towards required digital education and support medical university students in acquisition of new skills as requested by the labor market. e-Med offers an entirely new curricula/course addressing to COVID 19 simptoms, complications, treatment and recovery. Stimulation of innovative learning/teaching practices will be achieved by an interactive model of learning and training, encompassing the benefits of e-learning with innovative on line work-based approaches. The e-MED-skills on-line collaborative platform acts as a virtual place where both students and teachers will work together in learning, teaching and development of course content. As main aspects we promote digital content of training, OER development, testing and implementation of flexible learning pathways. The course content is developed by joint research, consisting in different e- modules dedicated to COVID 19 complex aspects included into the e-learning platform. A specific module dedicated to tele-medicine will develop digital skills of participants. The methodologies and e-learning tools were enhanced by work based learning approaches, aiming to give the students the opportunity to apply gained knowledge in live situations. A virtual environment offers on line consultations regarding COVID or post-COVID complications. Students can follow the medical teachers intervention and can directly work with patients under trainer supervision by the use of tele-medicine. In this way e-MED will engage students and medical universities in the path to digital transformation not only for teaching but also for medical services needed in future jobs.