TelePresence in Rural Medical Education: A Mixed Methods Evaluation

Table 1

Learning and teaching activities using TelePresence.

Focus	Number of sessions	Description	Participants
Training simulated patients (SPs)	2	Training for SP role performance and feedback enabling capacity building in SP methodology across geographical regions via TelePresence	SPs and SP trainer
SP methodology with students or international medical graduates (IMGs)	7	SP facilitated teaching of patient assessments skills including empathic and cultural awareness testing the finer grained elements of communication and access via TelePresence	SPs and medical students IMGs
Postgraduate student supervision	1	Supervision of post-graduate student with specialized expertise located in one area but dissemination facilitated by TelePresence; assess formal academic presentation skills of student	Postgraduate supervisor and postgraduate student
Clinical skills teaching	2	Opportunity for high level skills training via TelePresence including detailed elements of physical examination (could incorporate suturing in simulation)	Clinical skills teachers and medical students
Peer tutoring	3	Explore student led educational methods across distances via TelePresence in topic of choice; includes horizontal (seeking equivalence in experience) and vertical (seeking near competence sharing of experience) peer tutoring	Medical students
Anatomy/physiology master classes	3	High level revision and extension of anatomy and/or physiology in the context of clinical experience	Anatomy/physiology tutors and medical students