Evaluating a Virtual Flipped Classroom Approach to Nurse Practitioner Telehealth Competency Development

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Health Informatics
• Telehealth

Background:

• Multi-modal strategies are crucial for developing nurse practitioner (NP) telehealth competency.
• Telehealth and connected health technologies are vital for improving care access, especially for underserved populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a virtual flipped classroom model for teaching NP students telehealth skills.
• To assess the effectiveness of eLearning, webinars, and standardized patient (SP) simulations in telehealth education.

Main Methods:

• Implemented a virtual flipped classroom including eLearning, interactive webinars, and virtual SP simulations.
• Collected data through multiple-choice quizzes, surveys, and SP evaluations.

Main Results:

• Students achieved high knowledge levels and met learning objectives.
• Telehealth simulation competency improved over time, with above-average performance.
• High student satisfaction was reported with the virtual learning experience.

Conclusions:

• A fully online flipped classroom model can effectively deliver educational benefits for telehealth competency.
• Further research is recommended to explore the impact of repeated simulation practice on telehealth skill development.