Prosthetic and orthotic students' perceptions on online courses during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan

The effects of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic have changed both the traditional teaching methods and clinical placements.

To investigate the effects of COVID-19 on the prosthetics and orthotics (P&O) training program in Japan.

A cross-sectional national survey.

A Google form survey was distributed to students through the heads of the department of P&O program across Japan. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data.

One hundred sixty-six students (107 males and 59 females) responded to the survey. The respondents' grades were as follows: freshman, 22.3% (n = 37); sophomore, 33.7% (n = 56); junior, 27.1% (n = 45); and senior, 16.9% (n = 28). Forty-seven percent (n = 78) reported that their clinical placements have been cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Only 15.1% (n = 25) have performed their clinical placements during the pandemic. Regarding career preparation, 16.3% (n = 27) had face-to-face interviews and 10.2% (n = 17) have reported being interviewed online. Of a total of 44 respondents who were interviewed for jobs in P&O industries and rehabilitation centers, 79.5% (n = 35) job appointments have been cancelled and 15.9% (n = 7) postponed.

The event of the COVID-19 pandemic has proved necessary to renew the traditional teaching and learning model in colleges worldwide. Most students have been affected by clinical placements and career preparation. Therefore, promoting telehealth in the existing rehabilitation facilities and P&O industries to provide services might be an alternative method to address students' clinical placements in similar life condition events.