Curricular needs for training telemedicine physicians: A scoping review

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Digital Health
• Telemedicine Training

Background:

• Virtual Care, including telemedicine, is increasingly integrated into clinical practice.
• Established curricula for physician training in telemedicine are lacking.
• Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) provides a framework for evaluating existing curricula.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the quality and comprehensiveness of published telemedicine curricula.
• To assess curricula through the lens of Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME).

Main Methods:

• A scoping review was conducted using the CanMEDS framework.
• Peer-reviewed articles on telemedicine training curricula were identified and analyzed.
• Data extracted included trainee population, curricular content, implementation stage, evaluation methods, country, and citations.

Main Results:

• Forty-three curricula from 11 countries were identified across various training levels and specialties.
• Hands-on experiences (76%) and lectures (60.5%) were common instructional methods.
• Of the 29 evaluated curricula, 83% received positive ratings, with hands-on curricula covering more CanMEDS roles.

Conclusions:

• Findings inform the development of more comprehensive and effective telemedicine curricula.
• Recommends a competency-based, outcomes-oriented framework like CanMEDS.
• Advocates for integrating multiple teaching modalities, emphasizing hands-on experiences, to enhance telemedicine training and patient care.