Technology Enhanced Training in Family Medicine during Covid-19 pandemic: Trainers’ and Trainees’ View

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has a dramatic effect on health professions education and training worldwide. Clinical training poses a vital challenge for medical educators. Technology-enhanced training (TET) helps in developing the required clinical and interprofessional skills. Objectives: to assess the feedback and satisfaction of the trainers and trainees to the new experience of technology-enhanced clinical training in family medicine. Methods: this is an educational interventional study conducted on 890 trainees (house officers). Online trainer-simulation with case scenarios followed by case reflection and discussions was our designed clinical training using Zoom meeting application. We assessed trainers and trainees' feedback. The trainees were asked about the training setting, satisfaction, and recommendation for future trainees. For the trainers, the questionnaire addressed their satisfaction, beneficence, workload, and preference of different training modes. Results: Regarding trainees’ feedback to the TET, 85% of trainees thought it was a beneficial mode of training and about 75% of them recommended it for the future trainees. Over 80% of the trainers were satisfied with the TET experience, and over 75% of them thought that this was a beneficial experience for the participating trainees. Although two-third of the trainers perceived the training to be mildly and moderately overloading, yet more than 80% were satisfied with this training experience and about three-fourth of them preferred it on face-to-face training. Conclusion: TET is a beneficial way of training on clinical skills as communication skills, patient-centered approach, clinical reasoning, and construction of management plan in family practice.