Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and subsequent physical distancing recommendations created major gaps in traditional dermatologic undergraduate and postgraduate medical education delivery. Nevertheless, the educational consequences of various public health restrictions have indirectly set aside the inertia, resistance, and risk averse approach to pedagogical change in medicine. In Canada, rapid collaboration and innovation in dermatologic education has led to novel programs including the implementation of a range of internet-facilitated group learning activities and a dramatic expansion of digital telehealth and virtual care. Going forward, three key issues arising from these developments will need to be addressed: the ongoing assessment of these innovations for efficacy; sustaining the momentum and creativity that has been achieved; and, determining which of these activities are worth maintaining when traditional “tried and true” learning activities can be resumed.
Highlights
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic will profoundly impact undergraduate and postgraduate medical education for the foreseeable future,[1,2,3,4] and it certainly has challenged the current model of dermatology education for residents and medical students.[5,6,7,8] we highlight educational gaps created by COVID-19, innovative educational initiatives across Canada during the pandemic, and the future opportunities arising from this worldwide health crisis
Post-graduate dermatology education across Canada has traditionally been rooted in supervised direct patient care and separate didactic sessions based on in-p erson participation at weekly academic half-day sessions, grand rounds, journal clubs and other group activities
The Canadian Professors of Dermatology (CPD) sponsors two well-recognized national education programs through: (1) BoSS (Basics of Skin Science)—an in-person half-day lecture series for senior residents attending the Canadian Dermatology Association (CDA) annual meeting; and, (2) DRIVE (Dermatology Residents Innovation and Vision in Education)—a series of online lectures, practice written exam, and an in-person mock objective structured clinical exam (OSCE) conducted annually for final-y ear residents preparing for their specialist certification examination
Summary
Some components of telehealth will become a permanent pillar of dermatologic care and resident education as we move forward This would benefit from ongoing evaluation in its effectiveness for patient care and as a teaching tool. It may provide fruitful and much needed learning opportunities for medical students, all of whom need even a basic level of clinical dermatology exposure. With the transition of dermatology to CBD, the authors strongly believe that some distance and virtual education initiatives will become enduring components of resident education This will necessitate ongoing collaborative efforts for synchronization, sustainability and evaluation.
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