Addressing the Rapidly Increasing Need for Telemedicine Education for Future Physicians

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Digital Health
• Clinical Skills Training

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated remote learning, impacting traditional in-person clinical skills training for medical students.
• A medical school developed a novel curriculum to integrate telemedicine into first-year medical education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce first-year medical students to telemedicine.
• To reinforce history-taking and clinical reasoning skills within a virtual environment.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of telemedicine training compared to traditional methods.

Main Methods:

• First-year medical students participated in three telemedicine sessions: lecture, standardized patient interaction, and small group faculty meetings.
• Student feedback was gathered via 5-point Likert scale surveys and narrative comments.
• Performance was assessed using a telemedicine Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) and compared to a previous in-person OSCE.

Main Results:

• Students reported that telemedicine sessions improved their history-taking skills and would benefit future practice.
• While finding the online platform useful, students experienced technical difficulties and expressed a preference for in-person physical examinations.
• Telemedicine OSCE performance was comparable to in-person OSCE performance (93% vs. 93.75% average scores).

Conclusions:

• Telemedicine introduction in medical school clinical skills courses equips students with essential skills for the evolving healthcare landscape.
• This curriculum effectively enhances clinical skills and prepares students for future telemedicine practice.
• The developed telemedicine curriculum is adaptable for both remote learning and integration into standard in-person medical education.