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Copyright of Canadian Journal of Rural Medicine (Wolters Kluwer India Pvt Ltd) is the property of Wolters Kluwer India Pvt Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Blended teaching combines traditional in‐person components (simulation‐based training and clinical‐based placement) with online resources. Due to the COVID‐19 pandemic, we modified our Women's Health Interprofessional Learning through Simulation (WHIPLS) program – to develop core obstetric and gynaecological skills – into a blended teaching program. There is limited literature reporting the observations of blended teaching on learning. Aims: To qualitatively evaluate the blended teaching program and explore how it contributes to learning. Materials and Methods: This study was performed at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. A total of 98 medical students and 39 midwifery students participated. Data were collected by written survey and analysed by authors using a thematic analysis framework. Results: Students reported that in‐person teaching remains a vital aspect of their curriculum, contributing an averaged 63.2% toward an individual's learning, compared with online. Five substantial themes demonstrate how students learnt and maximised education opportunities using a blended teaching program: 'low‐pressure simulation environments', 'peer‐assisted learning', 'haptic learning', 'scaffolded learning' and 'the impact of online discourse'. Discussion: In‐person teaching remains a cornerstone of obstetric and gynaecological clinical skills education, of which interprofessional simulation and clinical‐based placement are key components. Teaching via online discourse alone, is not sufficient to completely replace and provide comparable learning outcomes, but certainly plays an important role to prime students' learning and to maximise in‐person opportunities and resources. Our study reveals key pedagogies of a blended (online and in‐person) learning program, providing further evidence to support its ongoing utility as a feasible and warranted approach to learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study aimed to explore the experiences of alcohol and other drug nurses transitioning to telehealth due to the COVID‐19 pandemic. Background: COVID‐19 has caused immense disruption to healthcare services, and to reduce viral transmission, many services moved to off‐site care delivery modalities such as telehealth. Design: We used a qualitative descriptive design for this study. Methods: Secondary analysis of semistructured interviews with alcohol and other drug nurses from Australia and New Zealand (n = 19) was conducted in July and August 2020. Data were analysed using thematic analysis and reported using COREQ guidelines. Results: Three were identified: '"All our face‐to‐face contact ceased with clients": Changing service delivery', '"How do I do my job when I can't see you?": An anxious shift in service delivery' and '"A lot of Indigenous people don't like the FaceTiming and all that": Challenges to delivery of services through telehealth'. Conclusion: Participants in our study reported challenges in transitioning to telehealth modalities. The perceived loss of therapeutic communication, difficulties in assessing risks to healthcare consumers such as domestic violence and challenges delivering telehealth care to a marginalized consumer cohort need to be overcome before telehealth is considered successful in alcohol and other drug treatment. However, telehealth was a successful adjunct to existing practices for nurses working with consumers in regional or remote areas or where consumers preferred this method of service delivery. Impact: Nurses in this study described substantial issues with the delivery of alcohol and other drug treatment via telehealth, including a perception that telehealth was a barrier to addressing risks to consumers who use alcohol and other drugs, and difficulties working in a therapeutically beneficial way via telehealth. Telehealth is a means to reduce viral transmission through a reduction in face‐to‐face contact, and although it may be useful for some service functions, it may be detrimental to the clinical services nurses provide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives: To explore the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on alcohol and other drug nurses providing treatment for individuals presenting with problematic alcohol and other drug use. Background: COVID‐19 has caused disruption to contemporary health service delivery, including alcohol and other drug treatment. Provisional research on drug and alcohol consumption patterns shows changes attributable to the pandemic, with implications for service delivery. Research also indicates the impact of the pandemic on healthcare staff is significant, leading to workforce challenges that threaten care provision. Design: Qualitative descriptive study design. Methods: Data were collected using semi‐structured, individual telephone interviews with practising alcohol and other drug nurses from Australia and New Zealand (n = 19). COREQ reporting guidelines were used. Results: After thematic analysis, three key themes emerged: 'No room at the inn: Changes to service delivery due to COVID‐19', 'We are providing care to a very vulnerable group of people: Consumer factors during COVID‐19' and 'Personally, we were very, very stressed: Workforce factors due to COVID‐19'. Conclusions: The findings from this study indicate that the impact of the pandemic was felt by alcohol and other drug nurses, services and healthcare consumers alike. The experiences of alcohol and other drug nurses through the COVID‐19 pandemic need further exploration both to ensure workforce sustainability and that disruptions to alcohol and other drug services do not occur in future outbreaks of communicable disease. Relevance to clinical practice: COVID‐19 has had a profound effect on nurses in all settings, and these effects are likely to be felt for some time after the pandemic: nursing specialties require support to ensure ongoing workforce sustainability and well‐being of nursing staff. All nurses need to be aware of changes to alcohol and other drug use during the pandemic and screen healthcare consumers accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]