Virtual Visits in Medical Education: A Medical Student and Resident Perspective

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Health Informatics
• Virtual Care

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of virtual care in healthcare delivery.
• While the shift to virtual clinical education is documented, learner experiences remain underexplored.
• Understanding medical student and resident perspectives is crucial for optimizing virtual care education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess and compare the virtual clinic experiences of medical students and general surgery residents.
• To identify specific challenges and benefits related to learner objectives within virtual care settings.
• To inform strategies for enhancing the educational value of virtual clinics.

Main Methods:

• An anonymous 20-question Likert scale survey was administered to third-year medical students and general surgery residents.
• The survey evaluated experiences based on four learner objectives: patient care, systems-based practice, education, and faculty engagement.
• Statistical comparison (t-test) was used to analyze differences between medical student and resident responses.

Main Results:

• Key areas rated lowest included physical examination skills, faculty engagement, efficiency promotion, and clinical skills acquisition.
• Residents consistently provided lower ratings than medical students across all surveyed aspects.
• Significant differences (P < .05) were observed in active patient care participation, history taking, and efficiency between the two groups.

Conclusions:

• Learners perceive limitations in physical examination, efficiency, and faculty engagement within virtual clinic settings.
• Residents expressed more negative perceptions of virtual clinics compared to medical students.
• Educational strategies must account for these differential learner experiences to optimize virtual care training.