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Remote Clinical Experiences: A How to Guide

There are times when faculty must provide clinical experience and education outside of the regular clinical setting and without the physical presence of patients. Below are five examples of how to provide clinical experience without direct patient contact.

 

  1. What is it?
    • “Student-centered teaching methodology that exposes students to real-world scenarios that need to be solved using their reasoning skills and existing theoretical knowledge” (Ali, 2018, p.55)
  2. How to do it?
    • Individual work: Provide students with case scenario (video, paper, virtual sources) and have them provide answers to set questions.  Students can submit answers via electronic source or discuss case with faculty using telecommunications tool, e.g. phone, Zoom, etc. 
    • Small Group: Provide students with case scenario and have students meet virtually to role play and discuss the case. Other ideas include conducting team-based learning sessions, flipped classroom, or group discussions via zoom.
    • Use discussion boards to facilitate group discussion of case scenario
  3. Resources
  4. Research
  1. What is it?
    • Learning that occurs via virtual modules and completed whenever, wherever the student is located. Instructional pace proceeds based on the learner. 
  2. How to do it?
    • Create online course within Blackboard
    • Assign predeveloped online modules
    • Assign an online module as the prework for a flipped classroom setup; flipped classroom would occur in an online environment, e.g. Zoom meeting
  3. Resources
  4. Research
  1. What is it?
  2. How to do it?
    • Using web-conferencing technology, e.g. Zoom, have students’ conduct patient visits with standardized patients.
    • If allowable (consider legal, liability, licensure, reimbursement issues), have students conduct telehealth visits with real patients under faculty supervision.
    • Have students conduct patient visits via telephone.
    • Integrate zoom/web conferencing tools into live patient rounds.
  3. Resources
    • WebEncounter: a system that facilitates remote audio/visual encounters between students and standardized patients for the deliberate practice and assessment of healthcare communication competencies (fee-based service).
    • Zoom: web conferencing software with multimedia, chat, and screen sharing
  4. Research
  1. What is it?
    • Synchronous: instruction that occurs in real-time where instructor and students are online at the same time, examples include webinar or lecture given using a web-conferencing tool e.g., Zoom, or discussions that occur via chat room
    • Asynchronous: instruction that occurs without real-time interactions such as pre-recorded lectures or self-paced online modules
  2. How to do it?
    • Pre-record lectures and post in Blackboard course
    • Use web-conferencing tool e.g., Zoom, to give synchronous lectures or other conferences such as board prep sessions or Journal Club
    • Assign podcasts
  3. Resources
  4. Research
  1. What is it?
    • Providing students with opportunities to serve in health care roles that impact patient care without direct patient contact.
  2. How to do it?
    • Have students act as patient navigators
    • Have students operate patient care hotlines
    • Have students act as IT support for patients participating in telehealth
    • Have students lead resource (PPE) production and acquisition teams
    • Educational outreach (create educational fact sheets)
  3. Resources
  4. Research

Last Published: Mar 12, 2021