Tracking clinical resources for coronavirus disease 2019.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Assimilating and disseminating information during the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been challenging. The purpose of this review is to identify specific threats to the validity of the COVID-19 literature and to recommend resources for practicing rheumatologists and their patients. RECENT FINDINGS: The COVID-19 literature has rapidly expanded and includes 17 998 publications through May of 2020, 1543 of which also address rheumatic disease-related topics. Specific obstacles to acquiring high-quality information have arisen, including 'pandemic research exceptionalism' and a 'parallel pandemic' of misinformation. Unique challenges to rheumatologists include specific interest in antirheumatic disease therapies and a paucity of rheumatology-specific information. Patients with rheumatic diseases have faced shortages of critical medications and a lack of information tailored to their health conditions and medications. SUMMARY: We recommend rheumatologists develop a system to acquire high-quality information and offer guiding principles for triaging specific resources, which include relevance, accessibility, credibility, timeliness, and trustworthiness. The same principles can be applied to selecting patient oriented resources. Specific trustworthy resources are recommended.

Virtually Speaking: The Impact of a Nationwide Synchronous and Asynchronous Learning Forum.

OBJECTIVE: To address significant disruptions in didactic education precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, a group of rheumatology program directors collaborated with the American College of Rheumatology to create a virtual fellows-in-training (V-FIT) program. METHODS: A Working Group was composed to develop the virtual didactic program comprising live virtual sessions of core curricular rheumatology topics that were recorded to permit asynchronous learning. Nationally-recognized educators were invited to lead sessions to fill the void in didactic education occurring on a broad scale across United States (US) rheumatology fellowship training programs. Demographic information, live and asynchronous participation data, and feedback surveys were collected from participants in the program. RESULTS: There were three components to V-FIT: the Virtual Rheumatology Learning (ViRL) series, Virtual Rheumatology Practicum (ViP), and Virtual Rheumatology Teaching Lessons (ViTLs). The ViRL program had global impact with more than 2000 learners from over 55 countries. ViP provided a standardized curriculum of rheumatology topics for incoming first-year fellows. ViTLs addressed advanced and interdisciplinary rheumatic disease topics for learners at all stages. CONCLUSION: With collaboration, adaptation, and innovation, the V-FIT program not only maintained but enhanced education for rheumatology trainees, was enriched by national and international participation, and provided standardized, broadly accessible content with interdisciplinary learning.

Telemedicine in Adult Rheumatology: In Practice and in Training.

Many rheumatology providers, including fellows-in-training, responded to the immediate need for maintaining patient access to care via telerheumatology during the COVID-19 pandemic. The rapidity of this transition did not permit an intentional approach to integrating fellow education and training into virtual patient care. Virtual patient care has since become an integrated, and perhaps, an embedded part of rheumatology practice that will likely endure beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, the development of best practices in telerheumatology, including those for fellow education and training as these new entrants prepare to enter our workforce, will benefit the entire specialty. In this work, we seek to describe current models for training learners in virtual patient care, characterize existing barriers to virtual care models, and offer strategies to integrate telerheumatology into curriculum development and training.

Challenges, collaboration, and innovation in rheumatology education during the COVID-19 pandemic: leveraging new ways to teach.

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has significantly impacted the field of rheumatology, in both the delivery of clinical care and didactic education for our trainees. These changes have generated significant strain for program directors and clinical educators who have had to leverage technology and develop new systems to ensure continued trainee education and assessment. We aim to outline the impacts on formal education programs presented by these unprecedented disruptions, describe the development and deployment of online teaching, reflect on the challenges and opportunities for technology-enabled learning and use of social media for education, and give some international perspectives on impacts on postgraduate rheumatology training outside the USA. With the rapid dissolution of barriers in place during the pre-COVID-19 era, we have the opportunity to assess the efficacy of new methods of care and further integrate technology into teaching and assessment. We propose that a hybrid in-person and technology-enabled learning approach, so-called blended learning, is likely to remain the most desirable future model for supporting trainee learning.