Development of a Single-Institution Virtual Internal Medicine Subinternship With Near-Peer Teaching in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Abstract

In March 2020, medical students at the University of Washington School of Medicine were removed from clinical settings in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As subinternships are required for graduation and an important way to prepare for internship, a virtual subinternship was created to include practical elements of in-person learning and to address limited teaching faculty from COVID-19 inpatient surges. A virtual, interactive subinternship was developed with case-based teaching sessions, communication and critical literature evaluation skill building, professional development, and creation of independent learning plans. Near-peer teachers (NPTs) were selected from graduating senior medical students who matched into internal medicine. In addition to teaching topics from the Clerkship Directors of Internal Medicine curriculum, NPTs engaged in course development, recruited teaching faculty, gathered feedback, and facilitated small groups. Participating students completed pre- and postcourse surveys. The 10 students (100%) enrolled in the course who completed both surveys indicated significant improvement in mean scores across 4 domains: evaluating medical literature (3.1/5 to 4.5/5; +1.4, P < .001); developing individual learning plans (3.6/5 to 4.7/5; +1.1, P = .001); perceived ability to efficiently evaluate patients with common internal medicine concerns (3.7/5 to 4.6/5; +0.9, P = .004); and formulating initial diagnostic and therapeutic plans (3.6/5 to 4.6/5; +1.0, P < .001). Themes extracted from open-ended responses included initial skepticism of an online format, the course exceeding expectations, and feeling prepared for internship. Although a virtual subinternship lacks direct patient care, students reported improvement in all 4 domains studied. Future courses would benefit from greater use of simulation and role-playing scenarios for practical skills. The experience with NPTs was encouraging, aiding in the success of the subinternship. The role of NPTs should be cultivated to fill gaps in content delivery and enhance the development of students as educators.