Virtual Telesimulation for Medical Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

PROBLEM: In March 2020, the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) became a global pandemic. Medical schools around the United States faced difficult decisions, temporarily suspending hospital-based clerkship rotations for medical students due to potential shortages of personal protective equipment and a need to social distance. This decision created a need for innovative, virtual learning opportunities to support undergraduate medical education. APPROACH: Educators at Yale School of Medicine developed a novel medical student curriculum converting high-fidelity, mannequin-based simulation into a fully online virtual telesimulation format. By using a virtual videoconferencing platform to deliver remote telesimulation as an immersive educational experience for widely dispersed students, this novel technology retains the experiential strengths of simulation-based learning while complying with needs for social distancing during the pandemic. The curriculum comprises simulated clinical scenarios that include live patient actors; facilitator interactions; and real-time assessment of vital signs, labs, and imaging. Each 90-minute session includes 2 sets of simulation scenarios and faculty-led teledebriefs. A team of 3 students performs the first scenario, while an additional team of 3 students observes. Teams reverse roles for the second scenario. OUTCOMES: The 6-week virtual telesimulation elective enrolled the maximum 48 medical students and covered core clinical clerkship content areas. Communication patterns within the virtual telesimulation format required more deliberate turn-taking than normal conversation. Using the chat function within the videoconferencing platform allowed teams to complete simultaneous tasks. A nurse confederate provided cues not available in the virtual telesimulation format. NEXT STEPS: Rapid dissemination of this program, including online webinars and live demonstration sessions with student volunteers, supports the development of similar programs at other universities. Evaluation and process improvement efforts include planned qualitative evaluation of this new format to further understand and refine the learning experience. Future work is needed to evaluate clinical skill development in this educational modality.

A Telesimulation Elective to Provide Medical Students With Pediatric Patient Care Experiences During the COVID Pandemic.

OBJECTIVES/INTRODUCTION: The Association of American Medical Colleges suggested that medical students not be involved in direct patient care activities in the United States because of the COVID pandemic. Our objectives are to (1) describe the rapid creation and implementation of a fully online simulation-based pediatric emergency medicine training intervention for medical student learners using existing simulation center staff (faculty, technicians, actors) and resources (simulation technology, scenario files) and (2) report student and faculty feedback on the intervention. METHODS: The sessions involved the use of our existing simulation center faculty, staff, and resources. Feedbacks on the sessions were collected via a survey from faculty and students at the end of each session. RESULTS: Sixteen simulation sessions were conducted (8 febrile infant, 8 anaphylactic toddler). Forty-eight students, 2 technicians, 2 actors, and 10 faculty participated. Ninety percent of the students agreed with the statements, "I am more comfortable with pediatrics after this session," "participating improved my pediatric knowledge/skills," "this session was more useful than other learning activities I am involved in at this time." Seventy percent of the students agreed with the statement, "I learned as much from observing as when I was actively involved." All faculty agreed with the statement, "this was an effective educational strategy compared to other distance learning." Most faculty (60%) disagreed with the statement, "virtual simulation was equal to or superior to in-person simulation." All students and faculty strongly agreed with the statement, "I would highly recommend this to others." CONCLUSIONS: A telesimulation intervention involving all medical students, staff, and facilitators interacting remotely for pediatric emergency training during COVID was associated with high levels of satisfaction by the majority of learners and faculty.