Teaching and Evaluating the Virtual Physical Exam in Telemedicine

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Digital Health
• Telemedicine Training

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated telemedicine adoption, necessitating training for healthcare professionals.
• Effective virtual visits require specific communication and examination skills.
• Existing curricula for telemedicine training are limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a simulation-based workshop for teaching telemedicine skills.
• To assess the performance of health professional trainees in virtual patient encounters.
• To establish a scalable curriculum for virtual physical examinations.

Main Methods:

• A multi-component workshop including readings, lecture, standardized patient simulation, faculty observation, and debriefing.
• Development of an evaluation rubric based on Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) telemedicine competencies.
• Assessment of medical students, physician assistant students, and internal medicine residents.

Main Results:

• High trainee performance with at least 90% rated as approaching entrustment or entrustable in key competencies.
• Successful application of the virtual head and neck examination during simulations.
• Positive feedback on the workshop's structure and effectiveness.

Conclusions:

• The simulation-based workshop is an effective method for teaching and evaluating telemedicine skills.
• The curriculum demonstrates scalability for diverse learner groups across the training continuum.
• This approach addresses the need for standardized virtual patient examination training.