1. Changing the Status Quo: Developing a Virtual Sub-Internship in the Era of COVID-19
- Author
-
Mathew Sorenson, Marisa Clifton, David Mikhail, Ezra J. Margolin, Lee Richstone, Simone Thavaseelan, Gina M. Badalato, John P. Sfakianos, Louis R. Kavoussi, and George E. Haleblian
- Subjects
Virtual Electives ,Students, Medical ,Reflective writing ,Graduate medical education ,Education ,Curriculum Development ,03 medical and health sciences ,vSIU, Virtual Subinternship in Urology ,0302 clinical medicine ,Mentorship ,Internship ,Original Reports ,Curriculum development ,ComputingMilieux_COMPUTERSANDEDUCATION ,Humans ,AUA, American Urologic Association ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Electives ,Curriculum ,Accreditation ,Interpersonal and Communication Skills ,Medical education ,SAU, Society of Academic Urologists ,SARS-CoV-2 ,Virtual Subinternships ,Practice-Based Learning and Improvement ,COVID-19 ,Internship and Residency ,COVID-19, Coronavirus disease 2019 caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus ,Virtual Education ,MS4, Fourth year medical student ,ACGME, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education PICS ,Medical Education ,Professionalism ,Education During Pandemics ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,AAMC, American Association of Medical Colleges ,Surgery ,Psychology ,Working group - Abstract
Problem Subinternships are integral to medical education as tools for teaching and assessing fourth-year medical students. Social distancing due to COVID-19 has precluded the ability to offer in-person subinternships – negatively impacting medical education and creating uncertainty surrounding the residency match. With no precedent for the development and implementation of virtual subinternships, the Society of Academic Urologists (SAU) developed an innovative and standardized curriculum for the Virtual Subinternship in Urology (vSIU). Methods The vSIU committee's mandate was to create a standardized curriculum for teaching foundational urology and assessing student performance. Thirty-three members from 23 institutions were divided into working groups and given 3 weeks to develop 10 modules based on urologic subspecialties, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education core competencies, technical skills training and student assessment. Working groups were encouraged to develop innovative learning approaches. The final curriculum was assembled into the “vSIU Guidebook.” Results The vSIU Guidebook contains 212 pages – 64 pages core content and 2 appendices (patient cases and evaluations). It outlines a detailed 4-week curriculum with a sufficient volume of resources to offer a completely adaptable virtual course with the same rigor as a traditional subinternship. Modules contain curated teaching resources including journal articles, lectures, surgical videos and simulated clinical scenarios. Innovative learning tools include reflective writing, mentorship guidelines, videoconference-based didactics, surgical simulcasting and virtual technical skills training. The guidebook was disseminated to program directors nationally. Next Steps The vSIU is the first virtual subinternship in any specialty to be standardized and offered nationally, and it was implemented by at least 19 urology programs. This curriculum serves as a template for other specialties looking to develop virtual programs and feedback from educators and students will allow the curriculum to evolve. As the pandemic continues to challenge our paradigm, this rapid and innovative response exemplifies that the medical community will continue to meet the needs of an ever-changing educational landscape.
- Published
- 2020