Abstract
BACKGROUND: The rapid transition to telemedicine at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic required many providers to learn telemedicine "on the fly." As virtual care will likely remain a mainstay of outpatient medicine, it is imperative that telemedicine training be incorporated into graduate medical education. AIM: Design a telemedicine curriculum for internal medicine residents based on principles of experiential learning. SETTING: VA-based internal medicine primary care clinic. PARTICIPANTS: Sixteen first-year internal medicine residents participated in the curriculum. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: The curriculum included a didactic session followed by four simulated patient encounters focused on troubleshooting technical issues, performing the virtual physical exam, coordinating team-based care, and tackling emergencies. PROGRAM EVALUATION: Participants reported minimal previous experience with telemedicine. After completing the training, resident confidence in conducting video visits increased from an average score of four to seven (on a 10-point scale). Residents were more likely to agree that video visits would allow them to build bonds and effectively address their patients' needs. This increased confidence persisted at 3 months after training. DISCUSSION: Using experiential learning, we identified strategies which increased the confidence of internal medicine trainees in conducting telemedicine visits. Further research is needed to validate our findings across different practice settings.