There have been many terms used over the last several months in reference to the time being spent in front of screens, with ‘Zoom fatigue’ and ‘screen burnout’ at the forefront of discussion. Screen time has increased as a result of face-to-face meetings being replaced with conference calls, often much longer in duration than quick office meetings, a need to connect with colleagues, friends and family in remote ways, and online social meetings which previously would have been saved for catching up with those in other locations. Despite this significantly challenging shift in everyday life, there has been a sense of background pressure towards needing to achieve and capitalised on the wide range of online activities offered. If this was joining a gym class, a team quiz, learning a new skill, developing a hobby, or offering/selling a product, there was much to enjoy, or endure, online.
At the beginning of the pandemic, for many it seemed opportune to be able to commit time to additional activities that would never have been possible in the ‘normal’ day to day life before. It was particularly encouraging at the Society to see so many of the members and nutrition community engaging with additional CPD through the NSTA. In fact, registrations for the NSTA’s live webinars increased significantly in the period of April to June. However, many reports over the summer suggested that from July onwards, ‘Zoom fatigue’ and ‘pandemic burnout’ kicked in. Suddenly factoring in an additional hour of screen time dedicated to CPD may have seemed a little overwhelming, particularly on a day which was already occupied with copious hours of online meetings.
The Society’s team were aware of this impact on the membership (and were not themselves immune!) and with this in mind, the NSTA has responded with a change which the Society hopes can benefit the membership during these challenging times. NSTA webinars are now available on-demand.
They will be made available one week after the live event for you to watch at a time convenient to you, where previously they were only available at a few select times and dates. Technology developments and greater protection to speakers’ content, has now made this a viable option.
What difference will this make, given that each webinar is still an additional 60 minutes of screen time?
Essentially, it will enable a spread of screen time, hopefully taking your CPD time away from an already busy ‘screen day’. CPD should be an enjoyable and stimulating part of being a nutrition professional, where you can learn from and engage with world-renowned leading experts, and hopefully fuel your existing passion for the field. Hopefully these changes will reignite enthusiasm for CPD and online training, particularly as we enter a new year.
Have you set all of your CPD goals?
Often such a cliché term, yet is there a better time to refresh your CPD plan than the start of a new year? With support from the NSTA you can be ready to head into a new year, where hopefully there will be great opportunity to re-engage with colleagues face to face and any time spent learning online will feel like the ‘new’ and once again appreciated, normal!
As the NSTA team work hard to provide a diverse range of webinars to support your CPD needs, the on-demand catalogue has grown substantially. We are currently updating the format of the catalogue to make is easier for you to find the training to fit your needs and hope to be able to share this with you in 2021.