A Phenomenological Experience of Trainer with COVID-19 Training: A Tertiary Level Institution Experience with Simulation

Abstract Background: Highly infectious diseases like COVID-19, which are rapidly disseminating and exceedingly contagious, require vital safety skills to be followed by all health professionals. These safety skills need to be taught to all individuals working in the health care sector, by qualified trainers. The present study describes the experiences of COVID-19 trainers who were involved in providing this intensive training to health workers, in a tertiary level institution. The hospital was providing services to COVID positive patients, as well as emergency and tertiary care services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the participants in the study were high risk groups who were in direct interaction with COVID positive patients.Methods: The COVID-19 training program was conducted for more than three months, with the aim of training all the health care workers at a tertiary care institute, during the Corona virus pandemic. Twenty trainers, who had completed at least 30 or more sessions of training more than 2700 health workers, were included in this study. These trainers were interviewed for an average of thirty minutes per participant and were asked 30 open ended questions each. Results: The mean age of the trainers was 28.9 years, and 75% of them were females. The interview of the COVID-19 trainers highlighted four important factors, which according to them were the pillars of this successful and effective training program. These factors included: The use of video demonstration and simulation for the training; Regular updating of the skill of the trainers in this program; Ease of communication to address the challenges faced by the trainers; and strong administrative support for the training. Conclusion: The results of this study reveal that if health workers are provided a conducive environment for training, as well as full support for updating their knowledge and skills, they can provide optimal health care services to their patients and fellow healthcare workers, even during a challenging time like the COVID-19 pandemic. The trainers in this study provided training to all the health care workers of the hospital, who were posted in COVID wards, even at a time when everyone had the fear of contracting the infection.