Utilization of Telemedicine to Supervise Medical Students in the Post-Acute/Long-Term Care Setting.

OBJECTIVES

Telemedicine has become a widely accepted alternative to face-to-face patient encounters. Although there have been several peer-reviewed journal articles on incorporating telemedicine into the medical school curriculum, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, assessments of the effectiveness of remote supervision of medical students have not been reported. This prospective cohort study of student subjects using observational survey data evaluated the efficacy of telemedicine as an educational resource by comparing learning outcomes between osteopathic medical students receiving direct (physically present) supervision with a group who received remote (telemedicine) supervision by clinical faculty within a post-acute/long-term care (PA/LTC) setting. Learning outcomes in the domains of patient rapport, attitudes, knowledge, and behavior were measured using standardized survey instruments.

DESIGN

Prospective cohort study of student subjects using observational survey data.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

A total of 167 fourth-year osteopathic medical students at a teaching nursing home (TNH).

METHODS

A total of 167 fourth-year osteopathic medical students (OMS-4s) were randomly assigned face-to-face PA/LTC patient encounters at the TNH. The encounters were follow-up visits to residents of the TNH that were supervised by faculty geriatricians. Half were accompanied by the physician and the other half were supervised by the physician through telemedicine. Evaluation using validated survey instruments measured patient rapport, verbal communication, and physical examination skills as well as attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors of the student/subjects.

RESULTS

A nonparametric statistical analysis of 4 dependent variables measuring patient rapport, attitudes, knowledge and behavior showed no significant difference between the 2 teaching modalities.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

The results of this prospective cohort study indicate that telemedicine supervision is comparable (noninferior) to direct supervision of medical student trainees in a PA/LTC setting.