Medical students consulting from home: A qualitative evaluation of a tool for maintaining student exposure to patients during lockdown

We were the first UK University to allow medical students based at home to consult remotely with patients (at the time, most medical schools considered this to be a “no-go”). Our scholarly evaluation of this controversial but potentially game-changing clinical education method has so far had over 5800 views and 22 citations. It was the only evidence referenced by national guidance sent to all medical schools by the Medical Schools Council. One of our key findings was that medical students could be trusted to undertake remote consultations from their own homes – allowing this teaching method to be accepted nationally.

Extract from Abstract

Introduction

Lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic had a disruptive effect on medical education when they prevented medical students accessing real patients. To address this, we piloted 35 medical students at home consulting remotely with patients.

Method

We evaluated the intervention using qualitative analysis of post-experience interviews with a sample of 13 students and 10 clinical supervisors.

Results

The experience was perceived by all those interviewed to be both acceptable and educationally valuable. Data analysis revealed different models of implementation according to type of patients involved (acute, recently treated or expert patients) and type of communication platform used (AccuRx, Microsoft Teams or telephone). Practical and educational challenges were identified in relation to the following elements of the experience: patients consulting with students remotely, students being remotely supervised and students undertaking patient contact from home. Strategies for addressing these challenges were directly suggested by interviewees and also inferred from our analysis of the data.

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