Abstract
The use of telemedicine has grown significantly over recent years in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and accelerated social acceptance of telehealth as a valid care delivery modality, particularly in psychiatry. These changes in care delivery necessitate changes in medical student education if physicians are to meet the evolving needs of their patients. A pilot telepsychiatry educational program was developed and implemented within the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. During their psychiatry clerkship, third-year medical students were educated in “webside manner” as well as the various advantages and disadvantages of telemedicine. They then completed a half-day outpatient rotation with a telepsychiatry attending. Afterwards, students provided feedback on their experience via a combined quantitative and qualitative survey instrument including both Likert scales and open-ended questions. Of the 137 third-year medical students, more than half (64%) selected they “strongly agree” or “agree” the outpatient telepsychiatry experience was a valuable addition to the clerkship. Over a quarter (27%) reported supervision with the telepsychiatrist was “significantly better” or “slightly better” than the in-person psychiatry supervision. Over half (56%) of the comments stated this experience was valuable and/or enjoyable and 17% of respondents noted positive instances of high participation. This implementation of a telepsychiatry pilot rotation for third-year medical students was met with mostly positive feedback. Incorporation of dedicated telepsychiatry training into medical school curricula can enhance learner experience, increase faculty and clerkship capacity in underserved areas, and provide foundational skills for physicians-in-training to adapt to an evolving healthcare landscape.
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Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank M. Justin Coffey for his mentorship and support of the pilot program; Devon Bremer for her support and guidance; Lauren Bond for data collection, the regional education specialists for their assistance; Bridget Sherring for her help with creating the preceptor training module; and Jennifer Koestler for her critical read.
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Appendix
Appendix
Complete Qualitative Feedback of Pilot Telepsychiatry Program
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Conroy, C., Joshi, K., Van Gieson, M. et al. Implementation and Evaluation of a Telepsychiatry Pilot Curriculum for Medical Students. J. technol. behav. sci. 9, 91–99 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41347-023-00379-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41347-023-00379-2