Remote Teaching in a Rwandan Emergency Medicine Residency: A Viable Option with Limited In-person Staff

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Emergency Medicine
• Global Health

Background:

• Low and middle-income countries (LMICs) in Africa face significant medical education challenges, with a severe shortage of physicians relative to the disease burden.
• The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated educational constraints, particularly in emergency medicine (EM), limiting opportunities for students and residents.
• Rwanda experienced a scarcity of in-person EM residency instructors during the pandemic, necessitating innovative teaching solutions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the reception and viability of a remote, pre-recorded teaching model as a substitute for in-person instruction in emergency medicine residency in Rwanda.
• To assess learner satisfaction, lecture quality, technological quality, and situational suitability of the remote teaching model.

Main Methods:

• A remote teaching model was implemented, featuring pre-recorded lectures with remotely available instructors for Rwandan EM residents.
• A quantitative and qualitative post-lecture survey, based on the Kirkpatrick framework, was administered to assess learner feedback.
• Survey responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics, focusing on learner satisfaction, lecture and technological quality, and situational suitability.

Main Results:

• An average of 11 Rwandan EM residents attended 18 lectures, reporting high overall satisfaction (composite score 4.25/5).
• Learner satisfaction, lecture quality, and situational suitability scores were high (4.2-4.25/5), indicating positive reception of the remote model.
• While technological quality was rated well (4.0/5), lower scores were noted for lecturer accents and speech rates; however, qualitative feedback showed no significant dissatisfaction.

Conclusions:

• Pre-recorded, remote instructional methods are a viable and positively received supplement when in-person lecturers are unavailable, particularly in resource-limited settings.
• The implemented remote teaching model demonstrated suitability and satisfaction among EM residents in Rwanda.
• Future research could explore wider implementation in multinational cohorts or LMICs facing greater technological or resource limitations.