Blood safety training: Can virtual training replace in-person training?

Background Healthcare professionals require continuous professional development and training to improve their knowledge and skills to prevent or minimize errors in blood transfusion. The novel Coronavirus-19 (Covid-19) pandemic affected face-to-face medical education and resulted in a shift from traditional education methods to online or virtual methods. We analysed the effect of virtual blood safety training on participant's knowledge and perception. Methods A prospective analysis of pre-test and post-test responses to a 25-item multiple choice questionnaire and feedback received for the training programme were analysed. The training feedback was obtained using a Google form link. Results The mean pre-test score of 131 analyzed participants was 16.02, which increased to 18.06 after the training. The difference was not statistically significant. The mean pre-test and post-test scores for doctors (n=45) were 17.91 and 19.33, respectively which was statistically significant. There was no statistically significant difference between the mean pre-test (15.03) and post-test (17.39) scores of technical staff (n=86). The majority (54%) preferred in-person physical training during feedback. Conclusion Virtual training can be conducted as a temporary measure. We did not find a difference in participants' knowledge except for doctors. The majority of participants preferred in-person training.