Features

Diverse online teaching and learning experiences

The School has been offering different modes of online learning during months of class suspension. How to make use of information technology to provide diverse learning experiences for students and fulfil their learning expectations? Let’s review our online teaching and learning strategies and its effectiveness. What we have done so far Subject lecturers have been using different e-teaching platforms, such as the Blackboard Collaborate Ultra, Zoom, and MS Teams to deliver online lectures, tutorials, and lab sessions (facilitators demonstrated nursing skills in real-time), etc. These software programmes enable students to interact with their lecturers and classmates in virtual classes instantly. Teaching materials were uploaded for student revision. The clinical education team developed a set of online lectures and tutorials with topics, such as ventilator care, aerosol generating procedures and professional nursing competence assessment to allow students to continue to learn during the suspension of clinical practicum. Teacher-student meetings and talks also go online. For example, online career talks were organised to give students more understanding of their professional development. The ICAC talk was delivered online for the first time to graduating students. The Student Academic Advisors have also been communicating with our students regularly via Blackboard Collaborate Ultra and MS Teams to give emotional support and guidance to students throughout this special period. Strategies & evaluation The School’s teaching teams attended webinars given by the EDC, ITS, and our online teaching support team to enhance online teaching skills and learn ways to facilitate E-learning. Various strategies have been using to facilitate student E-learning, such as preparing PowerPoint teaching materials with voice-overs, making short video lectures, encouraging discussion in online groups and chat boards. Web-based senior-student peer supervision was introduced in the service learning (SL) subject Mentoring Health Ambassadors for School Communities. Guided by the senior peers and the lecturers, students in small groups developed their activity plans. To keep track of students’ progress, subject lecturers have been using the Subject e-Engagement Reports to monitor student participation. “When lectures identified students with low participation, they will send them a reminder to encourage them to put more effort in E-learning,”said Dr Sau-fong Leung, the programme leader of the BSc (Hons) in Mental Health Nursing programme. Apart from online quizzes/examinations or written assignments, formative assessment, such as interactive Q&A sessions, peer assessment and reflective journal, etc., have been used by subject lecturers to evaluate students’ learning and help students identify areas for improvement. Polls were conducted and student feedback was collected for refining teaching strategies. To overcome challenges of assessing online video assignments, uRewind has been used by subject lecturers for supporting students’ creation and submission of videos. The software also allows subject lecturers to give online feedback on video clips. Before assessing group projects, the subject lecturers of Mentoring Health Ambassadors for School Communities communicated regularly with students online to sustain the group dynamics and ensure that students were on the right track in their learning. Effectiveness of online teaching & student feedback The School’s teaching teams conducted a survey to understand the effectiveness of on-line teaching. The results of the survey showed that majority of students participated in the online synchronised sessions (median attendance=92%) and accessed the asynchronised online teaching materials (median hit rate=0.97). In some courses, the asynchronised learning materials were access repeatedly (Hit rate max=6.9). Students commented that they enjoyed the convenience, safety and comfort of learning in their home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Shy students benefitted more as they have become more active in online learning activities. However, our teaching teams have been aware that some statistics showed that the engagement rates of small classes were lower than large classes. For the SL subjects, student online engagement was generally high. Online senior peer supervision helped create good dynamics among student groups. “All student work was submitted on time with good quality,” said Annie Yip, a lecturer of the subject. “Students also found it easier to ask questions online.”

New MOOC course on frailty in daily living

Dr Rick Kwan, Dr Justina Liu, Dr Daphne Cheung, and Mr Patrick Kor delivered a new massive open online course (MOOC) “Frailty In Daily Living” in January. It was the first MOOC course led by SN staff members and the third MOOC project in which SN staff members were involved. This 4-week free online course was offered by the HKPolyUx and delivered via the edX*platform. It aimed to enhance the understanding of local and global audiences on frailty and promote frailty management. The instructors from our School introduced the theories, risk and protective factors, assessment methods, and interventions of frailty, as well as association between frailty, cognitive functions and nutrition. The course was open to global audiences and over 680 learners enrolled. Dr Rick Kwan, one of the instructors, said that mini-lectures, demonstrative videos and tests were conducted to facilitate learning. “We hoped that our learners will apply the skills they learnt for assessing and managing frailty or helping older adults managing their daily living,” said Dr Kwan. Another instructor, Dr Justina Liu said that this course equipped learners with the knowledge about frailty and the ability to differentiate between sarcopenia and frailty. “These are big steps forward for frailty prevention and management,” said Dr Liu. Learners gave positive comments to the course, such as: “Thank you, Dr Rick. Being a former (now retired) scientist, I like seeing issues defined and analysed in a scientific framework, as you did very nicely in your mini-lecture.” --- Bruce McChullough *PolyU is an institutional partner of the edX Consortium, an e-educational platform founded by Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University. HKPolyUx is an online platform established to facilitate online learning.

New MOOC course on shared decision making and interprofessional collaboration

The HKPolyUx launched a new massive open online course (MOOC) “ Shared Decision Making and Interprofessional Collaboration in Health Care” on 2 September. This was the second MOOC project in which our staff members were involved. Prof. Glyn Elwyn, Professor of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, the USA (also Adjunct Professor of the School), together with instructors from PolyU including Dr Kitty Chan (Teaching Fellow, School of Nursing) , Mr Alexander Woo (Senior Clinical Associate, the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences), Mr Bobby Shiu, Clinical Associate, the Department of Health Technology and Informatics) introduced the concept and model of shared decision making and elaborated how to build interprofessional collaborative practice. In addition, renowned experts in various health care fields shared their experience on interprofessional collaboration. The 7-week free online course was delivered via the edX platform and was open to global audiences. It was listed as one of the “must take” courses in edX. The course recorded a high enrollment of over 1,400 learners and over 40% were global learners (as of 30 September). Instructors used the best scientific evidence available to teach and prepare students to engage patients in decision-making, using strategies to integrate patients’ preferences during treatment planning. They also shared their interprofessional collaborative experience, discussed effective ways for coordination of care to meet health needs and elaborated innovative strategies that promote collaboration among healthcare allies. Dr Kitty Chan, one of the instructors, said that during the course, a case study delivered in the form of documentary drama took students through a patient’s journey to experience challenges in recovery. “The drama stimulated students to think about the concepts and significance of shared decision making and interprofessional collaboration to achieve optimal health outcomes for patients.” Said Dr Kitty Chan. The learners commented that the concept of shared decision making is worth advocating as it promotes the respect of patients’ autonomy and the balance beween scientific evidence and patients’ preferences. The majority of the learners responded to the on-line polling questions by expressing that they enjoyed the course, learnt a lot, and would recommend the course to their friends. PolyU is an institutional partner of the edX Consortium, an e-educational platform founded by Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University. HKPolyUx is an online platform established to facilitate online learning. Details of Shared Decision Making and Interprofessional Collaboration in Health Care, please click here.

Alumna won HA Outstanding Staff Award

Congratulations to our alumna, Ms Susan Siu-ming Law, Nurse Consultant of Princess Margaret Hospital, who received the Outstanding Staff Award from the Hospital Authority. Ms Law is dedicated to promoting quality stoma and wound care. Under her leadership, Princess Margaret Hospital’s first nurse-led stoma and wound care clinic was established in 1994. The clinic is now serving almost 2,000 attendances a year. She led a multi-disciplinary team to monitor pressure injury incidences and their effort has resulted in a significant reduction in the pressure injury incidence rate of the hospital. Details of Ms Law’s achievement, please click here.

Nursing students scooped champions in Social Enterprise Challenge

SN student and alumna are the biggest winners of the Hong Kong Social Enterprise Challenge. The innovative concept of applying Chinese medicinal therapies for injury prevention and sports rehabilitation to the general public and the ergonomic designed commode gained Ms Ka-yee Chan [our year-2 student on the BSc (Hons) in Mental Health Nursing programme] and Ms Ying-tung Chan (our alumna) and their multi-disciplinary teams the champions in the HKSEC. The competition, organised by the Center for Entrepreneurship of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, is an inter-collegiate social venture startup competition, which encourages students to employ a creative entrepreneurial approach to tackle social issues. Ms Chan, together with her three team members from the School of Chinese Medicine and the Department of Politics and Public Administration the University of Hong Kong, beat over more than 120 teams, and they were awarded the champion, with the startup prize money for an amount up to HK$ 75,000 for each team member, which will enable them to implement the first phase of their social enterprise namely “Chinese Medicine in Sports” under mentorship. The champion team also has the opportunity to represent Hong Kong to join the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) Youth Co:Lab Summit 2019*, held in Hanoi, Vietnam in April this year. Since the successful hosting of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Chinese medicine (CM) has been playing an important role in sports and many research studies have shown that CM therapies achieved good results for athletes. Unlike professional athletes, the public does not have easy access to sports team doctors and often neglects appropriate pre and post competition preparation and rehabilitation. “Chinese Medicine in Sports” aims to fill the gap in the existing service by providing affordable and quality CM therapies, such as acupressure, massage, and cupping to public participants engaging in sports events or competitions (such as the Standard Chartered HK Marathon) and at the same time, providing employment with a decent wage for the visually impaired massage therapists. “Our project can bring mutual benefits to the service providers and users. This is the key for our success in the competitions, ” said Ka-yee Chan. At present, the unemployment rate of the visually impaired persons is more than 85%. The team is recruiting visually impaired massage therapists and planning to provide training that integrates CM theories and sports science so as to enhance the knowledge of the therapists. As a mental health nursing student, Ms Chan’s role in the team is to recruit massage therapists, organise sharing events and provide psychological support to the recruits. “Many visually impaired persons have low esteem and they find it difficult to survive in the society. We hope that our social enterprise can help them enhance their professional status and demonstrate their potential,” said Ka-yee Chan. By improving the access of CM sports rehabilitation service, the team also hope to raise the public’s awareness of sports injury and rehabilitation, as well as promote the use of CM in sports science. Past Achievements of “Chinese Medicine in Sports” Awarded Silver medal at the 4th China Internet+ College Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, 2018. Awarded Bronze medal at the China College Students’ Entrepreneurship Competition 2018. *Youth Co:Lab Co-created in 2017 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Citi Foundation, Youth Co:Lab aims to establish a common agenda for countries in the Asia-Pacific region to empower and invest in youth, so that they can accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals through leadership, social innovation and entre­preneurship.   Alumna won another champion Another champion project, Squatty Commode, is led by our alumna, Ms Ying-tung Chan (registered nurse) and guided by Dr Kin Cheung (Faculty Advisor of the project). The ergonomic designed commode helps guard against its rolling-over and prevent users from standing up, hence, reduces fall risks. The step-stool brings one’s legs up to mimic a squatting position, which promotes defecation. For details： Chinese Medicine in Sports Squatty Commode

PolyU establishes an alliance with eight institutions in the Greater Bay Area to advance research in nursing

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with eight participating universities / institutions in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) to establish The Nursing Alliance of Research and Knowledge Transfer. The initiative aims to strengthen collaboration in nursing research and knowledge transfer among cities of the GBA in response to the national strategy for the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The MoU was signed in Shenzhen in the Mainland by Prof Alex Molasiotis, Chair Professor of Nursing and Head of the School of Nursing, PolyU, and the eight representatives of other institutions, including: Dr Li Yanlian, Vice President, Macao Polytechnic Institute; Prof.Zhou Ying, Associate Dean of the School of Nursing, Guangzhou Medical University; Prof.June Zhang, Associate Dean of the School of Nursing, Sun Yat-Sen University; Prof. Zhang Lili, Dean of the School of Nursing, Southern Medical University; Prof. Chen Weiju, Secretary and Associate Dean of the School of Nursing,Director of the Nursing Department of the First Affiliated Hospital, Jinan University; Ms Mo Beirong, Vice President of the Nanshan District People's Hospital of Shenzhen; Prof. Wang Chunmei, Vice Director of Zhuhai Campus Management Committee, Zunyi Medical University; and Ms Zhang Li, Director of the Nursing Department, The First People's Hospital of Foshan. "The signing of the MoU heralds a significant milestone in the collaboration in nursing development among Guangdong Province, Hong Kong and Macau," said Prof David Shum, Dean of Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, PolyU, at the ceremony. In the 3-year collaboration, the Alliance will actively promote nursing research cooperation, enhance the quality of care services, encourage sharing of information, resources, evidence-based nursing practice and research outcomes, as well as facilitate training of nursing personnel. "With our unique position as an international and a core city for driving regional development, Hong Kong and PolyU will grasp the opportunities to advance the discipline of nursing; develop inter-disciplinary, cross-institutional, as well as international collaborative research projects; and promote training and innovative services for the benefit of the people in the GBA, " said Prof Alex Molasiotis. The Alliance was selected as one of the top projects at the 2nd Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GreaterBay Area Health Cooperation Conference held earlier. The honour was received by the representatives from PolyU, Sun Yat-Sen University and The Nanshan District People's Hospital of Shenzhen.