Converting to Connect: A Rapid RE-AIM Evaluation of the Digital Conversion of a Clerkship Curriculum in the Age of COVID-19

Abstract

Background: With the advent of the 2019 coronavirus pandemic, a decision was made to remove medical students from clinical rotations for their own safety. This forced students on a core emergency medicine (EM) rotation at McMaster University to immediately cease all in-person activities. An urgent need for a virtual curriculum emerged. Methods: A virtual curriculum consisting of asynchronous case-based learning on Slack, ask-me-anything webinars, and online e-modules was created to fill the need. We describe a program evaluation using the RE-AIM framework and a social networking analysis of participants. Results: Medical students (n = 23) and 11 facilitators (five residents, six faculty members) participated in this pilot study. Faculty members sent a mean (±SD) of 115 (±117) messages (n = 6), and mean (±SD) message counts for students and residents were 49.96 (±25; n = 23) and 39 (±38; n = 5), respectively. A total of 62,237 words were written by the participants, with a mean of 1,831 per person. Each message consisted of a mean (±SD) of 25 words (±29). Students rapidly acquitted themselves to digital technology. Using the RE-AIM framework we highlight the feasibility of a virtual curriculum, discuss demands on faculty time, and reflect on strategies to engage learners. Conclusions: The use of asynchronous digital curricula creates opportunities for faculty–resident interaction and engagement. We report the successful deployment of a viable model for undergraduate EM training for senior medical students in the COVID-19 era of physical distancing.