Abstract
Purpose: Following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, much of clinical care rapidly transitioned to telehealth, shifting the clinical training milieu for most trainees. In the wake of this shift, educators have attempted to keep learners engaged in patient care and optimize medical education as much as possible. There is, however, limited understanding of the effect of telehealth on clinical education. The aim of our study was to better understand the educational experience of pediatric and Adolescent Medicine trainees participating in clinical encounters via telehealth in a specialty consultation Adolescent Medicine Clinic at a quaternary pediatric care hospital.Methods: Using a web-based anonymous questionnaire, we surveyed trainees rotating through the Adolescent Medicine Clinic between March and June 2020. We used descriptive statistics to evaluate their experiences with telehealth and identify techniques that were effective to facilitate learning during a telehealth visit.Results: Surveys from 12 pediatric and Adolescent Medicine trainees were received, a 75% response rate. Most trainees (83.3%) reported no prior experience with telehealth before the onset of the pandemic. By the end of their rotation, trainees identified techniques that helped facilitate learning during a telehealth visit. The majority of trainees (83.3%) rated their experience as effective or very effective, and all reported interest in incorporating telehealth into their future practice.Conclusions: Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine trainees reported overall positive experiences with telehealth in clinical education and an interest in incorporating this tool into future practice. Additional research is needed to refine techniques in engaging learners through telehealth.
Highlights
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic propelled into motion a rapid transition of many aspects of society across the globe, as life as we once knew it transformed over a period of weeks
While telehealth has been a well-established means of providing clinical services for over a decade, the global pandemic has brought it to the forefront as a crucial means of providing continued access to care while minimizing disease transmission [1, 2]
Several academic institutions in the United States have published on the challenges, opportunities, and impact of a rapid scale-up of telehealth use in Adolescent Medicine in the setting of the pandemic [6,7,8,9]
Summary
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic propelled into motion a rapid transition of many aspects of society across the globe, as life as we once knew it transformed over a period of weeks. While telehealth has been a well-established means of providing clinical services for over a decade, the global pandemic has brought it to the forefront as a crucial means of providing continued access to care while minimizing disease transmission [1, 2]. Several academic institutions in the United States have published on the challenges, opportunities, and impact of a rapid scale-up of telehealth use in Adolescent Medicine in the setting of the pandemic [6,7,8,9]. With academic medical centers worldwide converting much of their clinical care to telehealth, the educational opportunities and roles of medical trainees have shifted as well. Given the extraordinary nature of the pandemic, there have been varied approaches to managing trainees, ranging from complete discouragement of participation in clinical care to throwing trainees into action or fast-tracking students to graduate early to enable their participation in clinical care [10]
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