Telemedicine Reports (Apr 2024)

Development of a Virtual Pediatric Telemedicine Training Program

  • Joanne Murren-Boezem,
  • Cynthia M. Zettler-Greeley,
  • Andrea Ali-Panzarella,
  • Patricia Solo-Josephson

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1089/TMR.2024.0004
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 5, no. 1
pp. 123 – 133

Abstract

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Background: Medical students and pediatric residents are not routinely trained in urgent care telemedicine. Increased demand for virtual care following the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to remain, underscoring the need for health care organizations to develop structured training programs that meet the changing educational requirements of future pediatricians. Materials and Methods: The Nemours IRB reviewed this study and designated it a ?Not Research? (#1905675). This mixed-methods study assessed knowledge and comfort levels with telemedicine before and after participants completed a virtual telemedicine training rotation. Seven medical students and pediatric residents completed a brief, pre- and post-rotation survey with multiple-choice, true/false, and open-ended questions. Open-ended questions were thematically analyzed. Results: Improvement in participant knowledge was most notable for understanding the diagnostic limitations of telemedicine. At pretest, only 28.6% of participants believed they could adequately perform a telemedicine examination; after the program, 100% reported comfort with the modality. The most common theme among the participants was the belief that telemedicine played a role in expanding health care access. Discussion: Most participants chose the rotation because of their curiosity about telehealth and came into the training with some general knowledge of its purpose and operation. Exposure to various teaching methods, one-on-one time with attending physicians, and exposure to telemedicine clinical guidelines resulted in positive overall experiences. Conclusion: Our virtual telemedicine rotation curriculum uses an iterative process based on participant feedback to provide a learning experience that is increasingly improved to meet the knowledge level of our participants. Through this quality improvement lens, we aim to maximize participant learning and motivate the development of other remote telemedicine training programs.

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