LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Hybrid Model for Clinical Post-Graduate Teaching in a University Hospital

We read with interest the article by Tay et al “COVID-19 in Singapore and Malaysia: Rising to the Challenges of Orthopaedic Practice in an Evolving Pandemic”, published in the last issue of the Malaysian Orthopaedic Journal 1 . We write in to share our own experience. COVID-19 caught the world by surprise and has shaken us out of our comfort zones, teaching us to accept and practice many “new normals”. One of these would be “social distancing”, which means to put a physical distance (usually >1m) between individuals. Following the Movement Control Order (MCO) in March 2020, all group related activities were stopped and teaching sessions were moved to online platforms; such as Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams. Two to three presenters were scheduled weekly to present on topics according to the different subspecialties. As the COVID-19 situation in Malaysia improved in June, we were allowed to restart group sessions while adhering to strict protocols. Previously, clinical teaching sessions for post-graduate Orthopaedic trainees were held twice a week in a conference room that is usually packed with about 50 people. We had to figure out a way to limit attendees while providing an avenue for other trainees to participate without physically gathering together.