Key suggestions to improve teaching and learning in virtual ambulatory clinics
| Recommendation | Potential impact on residency education |
|---|---|
| Improve video technologies and IT support | The use of video technology will allow providers to incorporate aspects of the physical examination and to establish rapport with patients. This will allow faculty to directly observe the resident physician–patient encounter, facilitating resident physician’s assessment and feedback. |
| Increase teaching supports for faculty to include resident physicians in virtual care | Increased teaching supports for faculty, including guidelines on teaching using virtual care, increasing teaching time and administrative support, would allow faculty to dedicate more time to teaching resident physicians using virtual care, and help resident physicians develop virtual care–specific competencies. Teaching supports may also aid faculty in structuring and conducting their virtual care clinics. |
| Provide resident physicians with tools and instructional guidelines to approach virtual care patient encounters | Tools and frameworks on conducting virtual care, such as those developed for family medicine residents, (23) that mirror those provided and taught for in-person encounters, would enhance resident physicians’ ability to conduct virtual encounters, facilitate their learning and develop competencies. Similar tools for each specialty may improve patient interactions specific to each discipline. |
| Optimize physical space and train administrative personnel for virtual care clinics | Providing dedicated and private space for virtual care clinics would increase opportunities for residents to participate in virtual ambulatory care, increase clinic efficiency and ensure patients’ confidentiality. Additionally, training administrative personnel to schedule and support video-based virtual care clinics would increase uptake and use of video conferencing technologies. |
| Create EPAs specific for virtual care | The creation of virtual care–specific competencies and EPAs would ensure that resident physicians are being assessed on competencies relevant to virtual care encounters. This will also facilitate constructive feedback and direct observations for virtual care–specific competencies. |
Note: EPAs = Entrustable Professional Activities.