Given the prevalence of telemedicine today, ensuring medical student comfort with telemedicine is a necessity. The Association of American Medical Colleges have made telemedicine services an entrustable professional activity in medical curricula. A survey was conducted at one medical school in rural northeast Ohio to assess medical student comfort with these entrustable professional activity requirements, the results of which are described in this manuscript.
Introduction: Background: The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) notes a 154 percent increase in telemedicine use amongst healthcare providers between March 2019 and March 2020. While not formally incorporated into the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) accreditation standards, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has made the provision of telemedicine services as an entrustable professional activity (EPA). Given the growth of telemedicine use, medical student comfort with the formalized EPAs was explored in this study.Methods: An IRB-approved 17-question, anonymous survey was created based on the AAMC’s EPAs and administered to students at Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) over four weeks. The primary outcome of this study is to assess medical students’ self-reported telemedicine comfort levels.Results: The response rate was 141 students (22%). 57% of students describe that they were able to create equally as effective a therapeutic alliance using telemedicine compared to in-person appointments. 57% and 53% of students, respectively, felt they were able to gather information and diagnose patients using telemedicine compared to in person. 74% of respondents wish that telemedicine was formally taught in school. Conclusion: Most students believe they can effectively gather essential information, and counsel patients via telemedicine, but there was a notable decrease in confidence for medical students when comparing telemedicine and in-person care directly. Despite the EPAs created by the AAMC, students are not self-reporting the same comfort level with telemedicine as they are with in-person patient visits, so there are further opportunities for improvements in the telemedicine medicine school curriculum.Trial Registration: IRB Exemption approved on 02/28/22 by Northeast Ohio Medical University
Background: Social determinants of health have been well accepted as contributing to health outcomes. They are a vital aspect of health care delivery and must be a consideration, especially among free clinic populations. Social determinants of health have also become a required element of medical school curricula. The Student Outreach to Area Residents Student-Run Free Clinic based out of Northeast Ohio Medical University piloted a student-led program that implemented social determinants of health screening and community resource referral as a part of integrated health care delivery for all its patients. Methods: We described the development of a screening tool, protocol, and creation of community resource referral materials. We also described the tracking of patient-reported needs and mapping of location and accessibility of community resources. One hundred patients were surveyed through convenience sampling, and results were used for program improvement. Results/Conclusion: After collecting and analyzing survey results, it was found that the 2 most frequently requested determinants were mental health and utilities services, and the most available community resource was emergency food services. We also mapped these results by zip code and found gaps between need and distribution of services. We demonstrated the utility of mapping to identify points of improvement for the future. We also provided lessons learned related to effective social determinants of health screening, community resource referral, and overall program implementation in student-run free clinics. We further explained the benefits of including similar student-led programs as a way for students to gain practical experience related to social determinants of health.
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