Abstract
PURPOSE: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine pivoted to a virtual learning platform to provide clinical education to students. Instructional modalities included virtual synchronous and asynchronous instruction and assignments provided by faculty.
METHODS: An online survey was conducted to ascertain the perceptions of Clerkship Directors and rising fourth-year medical students on content delivery, assessment, and current performance ability related to the 13 Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) in the virtual learning environment. The Clerkship Director survey was confidential and addressed specific learning activities within each EPA. The student survey was anonymous and inquired about the 13 EPAs in general. We compared the percentage of each response option between faculty and students across all core clinical clerkships and within each clerkship. Survey data were collected and managed using REDCap and data were analyzed using Tableau ®.
RESULTS: The survey identified EPA-related content which could be strengthened in the virtual clinical clerkship experience. Differences in perception between faculty and students were notable. In general, the students perceived more EPA-related content delivery and assessment than the faculty. Very few EPAs were reported lacking in content delivery and assessment among both groups. The faculty perceived more need for some level of supervision across all the EPAs and noted that a minority of students could not perform certain EPAs at all. Conversely, a greater percentage of students perceived that they could perform the EPAs independently.
CONCLUSION: These findings will inform efforts to improve EPA-related content and assessment in both virtual and in-person clerkship training. This work reinforced the importance of the 13 EPAs in addition to disease-specific knowledge and provided Clerkship Directors a framework to address and improve the clinical practice skills and proficiency level required of medical school graduates as they transition to residency.
METHODS: An online survey was conducted to ascertain the perceptions of Clerkship Directors and rising fourth-year medical students on content delivery, assessment, and current performance ability related to the 13 Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) in the virtual learning environment. The Clerkship Director survey was confidential and addressed specific learning activities within each EPA. The student survey was anonymous and inquired about the 13 EPAs in general. We compared the percentage of each response option between faculty and students across all core clinical clerkships and within each clerkship. Survey data were collected and managed using REDCap and data were analyzed using Tableau ®.
RESULTS: The survey identified EPA-related content which could be strengthened in the virtual clinical clerkship experience. Differences in perception between faculty and students were notable. In general, the students perceived more EPA-related content delivery and assessment than the faculty. Very few EPAs were reported lacking in content delivery and assessment among both groups. The faculty perceived more need for some level of supervision across all the EPAs and noted that a minority of students could not perform certain EPAs at all. Conversely, a greater percentage of students perceived that they could perform the EPAs independently.
CONCLUSION: These findings will inform efforts to improve EPA-related content and assessment in both virtual and in-person clerkship training. This work reinforced the importance of the 13 EPAs in addition to disease-specific knowledge and provided Clerkship Directors a framework to address and improve the clinical practice skills and proficiency level required of medical school graduates as they transition to residency.
| Original language | American English |
|---|---|
| State | Published - 2021 |
| Event | Educating Leaders 2021 AACOM Annual Meeting - Duration: Jun 12 2021 → Jun 17 2021 |
Conference
| Conference | Educating Leaders 2021 AACOM Annual Meeting |
|---|---|
| Period | 6/12/21 → 6/17/21 |