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

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Transfusion Medicine
• Public Health

Background:

• Healthcare professionals need ongoing training to enhance blood transfusion safety and minimize errors.
• The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a shift from traditional in-person medical education to virtual or online training methods.
• This study evaluates the impact of virtual blood safety training on healthcare professionals' knowledge and perceptions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the effectiveness of virtual blood safety training on knowledge acquisition.
• To evaluate participant perceptions and preferences regarding virtual versus in-person training methods.
• To determine if virtual training is a viable alternative for continuous professional development in transfusion medicine.

Main Methods:

• Prospective analysis of pre-test and post-test scores from a 25-item multiple-choice questionnaire.
• Analysis of participant feedback collected via a Google form link.
• Comparison of knowledge gains between doctors and technical staff following virtual training.

Main Results:

• Overall, there was no statistically significant increase in participants' mean test scores after virtual training (16.02 to 18.06).
• Doctors showed a statistically significant improvement in scores (17.91 to 19.33), while technical staff did not (15.03 to 17.39).
• A majority of participants (54%) expressed a preference for in-person training over virtual sessions.

Conclusions:

• Virtual blood safety training may serve as a temporary solution but did not significantly improve overall participant knowledge.
• The effectiveness of virtual training varied, with doctors demonstrating significant knowledge gains, unlike technical staff.
• In-person training remains the preferred method for healthcare professionals, indicating limitations of virtual platforms for this audience.