Research Project: Virtual Clinical Education Informed by Patient Experiences

On 11 March, patient partners, including nine health mentors, attended a celebration to mark the completion of the Virtual Clinical Education project which aims to support medical learners at UBC to deliver good virtual care.  Project lead, Dr Adrian Yee, Director of Curriculum, thanked the patient partners and explained how their contributions helped to achieve that goal:

“Your willingness to share your expertise, offer feedback, and engage in discussions has created a dynamic and collaborative environment for all participants. This project would not have been as impactful without your active involvement”.

The project is on track to complete five Podcasts before the end of March 2024, two of which are already available on the project website: Virtual Care – EdTech (ubc.ca). The Podcasts have been embedded in the Communication Skills course in Year 1 of the medical program and the Transition to Postgraduate Education and Practice Course in Year 4.

The Podcasts will support learning about relationship-building with patients, communication in virtual clinical care and how virtual care improves access for patients in rural and remote settings.  From the interviews and focus groups with patient partners the project team also learned the importance of trauma-informed care, and based on the information, is committed to improve the education about this important topic.