Telestroke Training: Considerations for Expansion of Vascular Neurology Program Requirements

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Medical Education
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Telemedicine for stroke (Telestroke) is vital for acute stroke care, with expanded use due to recent legislation and the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Practitioners providing Telestroke care vary in training, with some lacking specialized vascular neurology fellowship or virtual modality training.
• Existing Telestroke training in vascular neurology fellowships is inconsistent in curriculum, involvement, and hands-on experience.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the need for standardized Telestroke training in vascular neurology fellowships.
• To propose key components and evaluation metrics for formal Telestroke curriculum integration.

Main Methods:

• Review of current Telestroke practices and training components.
• Analysis of existing fellowship curricula and accreditation standards.
• Formulation of recommendations for standardized training.

Main Results:

• Telestroke training is not uniformly incorporated or standardized across vascular neurology fellowships.
• Current training lacks consistent evaluation metrics and hands-on experience for fellows.
• There is a lack of standardization in Telestroke training requirements by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

Conclusions:

• Formal incorporation of Telestroke training into vascular neurology fellowship curricula is recommended.
• Standardized curricula, including hands-on virtual modality training and consistent evaluation, are necessary.
• Standardization will enhance the quality and consistency of acute stroke care delivered via Telestroke.