Table 2.

Quotations illustrating areas of development from RCSI’s definition of professional development

Skill developed	Sample quotations
Working in partnership with the wider healthcare team	“Working in Partnership—This was perhaps the biggest take away from the proning experience. Seeing anaesthetists, nurses, porters, and members of other healthcare teams interacting every day to ensure the safety and care of the patients was inspiring.” “I feel that I better understand how the wider healthcare team interacted in the hospital/ICU during the pandemic peak.”
Effective communication	“Effective communication between team members was vital.” “Proning requires good coordination and timing, and that could be achieved only with effective communication.”
Compassion	“Compassion: This was something we were always considerate of as a proning team and sometimes were able to remind other doctors of their need to maintain this during the procedure.”
Altruism	“Altruism was certainly a large part of the proning experience as it would not really have been possible to partake in the proning for any reason other than to help and care for others.” “‘Altruism’. We risked our own health coming to the hospital to help the medical staff and patients.”
Evidence-based practice	“During the COVID-19 pandemic, new information was published on a daily basis, it was thus crucial for us to keep up with the latest evidence for our practice.” “I learned the importance of evidence-based practice and the role it plays in guiding the treatment of patients. Due to the novelty of the virus, there was a lack of solid evidence which appeared to be an obstacle faced when treating the COVID-19 patients.”
Self-care	“It was a highly emotional experience, and quite overwhelming emotionally at times. As mentioned earlier, it was very important to keep self-care at the top of the list each day when I got home and to take the time to either write down my thoughts/experiences from the day or to discuss them with friends/family.”

ICU, intensive care unit.