Reimagining the unimaginable: Moving an on-campus health course online during COVID-19

In early 2020 the world experienced the one in 100-year COVID-19 pandemic, causing major disruption to higher education in Australia. In Victoria, Australia this necessitated a rapid shift of university teaching and placements to the online environment. For health programs in particular, which are typically taught with significant on-campus and face to face components, this shift online created major changes in both teaching and learning. This study sought to explore the lived experience of teaching and learning for Australian occupational therapy students and academics at one Australian university during COVID-19. More specifically, this study aimed to explore the facilitators and barriers to occupational therapy online teaching and learning and the impacts it had on student/academic roles, professional identity, motivation and wellbeing. A qualitative phenomenological approach was adopted, with semi-structed interviews conducted with students (n=10) and academics (n=6). Inductive, thematic analysis of data was utilised. Five key themes were identified from the analysis of data: impact on professional identity, disruption of roles, feeling pressure, mutual respect and gratitude, and the importance of social connection at university. Whilst online learning may be more flexible for students and more cost effective for universities, the findings of this study suggest that there is a need to provide continued opportunities for health students to engage with academics and each other on-campus.