Advances in Medical Education and Practice (Dec 2020)
Online Synchronous Clinical Communication Training During the Covid-19 Pandemic
Abstract
Noelle Junod Perron,1 Melissa Dominicé Dao,2 Arabelle Rieder,3 Johanna Sommer,3 Marie-Claude Audétat1,3 1Unit of Development and Research in Medical Education, Geneva Faculty of Medicine and Institute of Primary Care, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland; 2Department of Primary Care, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland; 3Unit of Primary Care, Geneva Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, SwitzerlandCorrespondence: Noelle Junod PerronUnit of Development and Research in Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, Geneva University and Institute of Primary Care, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, SwitzerlandTel +41 22 372 96 76Email [email protected]: As the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak occurred, most structured clinical communication training were transformed from in-person to remote seminars. The aim of our study was to evaluate the usefulness and feasibility of online synchronous clinical communication training from both students’ and tutors’ perspectives.Patients and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study. Geneva Faculty of Medicine’ 3rd year medical students and tutors involved in clinical communication were asked to respond to an online survey.Results: Eighty-five of 149 students and 15/16 tutors responded. Students highly valued both online seminars and reported little technical difficulty. They felt that tutors were well prepared and actively involved them in experiential learning. Tutors globally reported little technical difficulty and felt rather well prepared to do so online. Although both students and tutors preferred the in-person format, half of them could still consider using an online format in the future outside the pandemic but mentioned it required specific rules.Conclusion: Our results suggest that clinical communication can be taught and practiced online and that tutors can quickly adapt to such changes.Keywords: clinical communication, online, synchronous, training, teaching
