Medical student education during the COVID-19 pandemic: Initial experiences implementing a virtual Interventional Radiology elective course

DePietro, Daniel M.; Santucci, Sarah E.; Harrison, Neil E.; Kiefer, Ryan M.; Trerotola, Scott O.; Sudheendra, Deepak; Shamimi-Noori, Susan

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic reducing medical student presence on clinical services and in classrooms, academic institutions are utilizing a virtual format to continue medical student education. We describe a successful initial experience implementing a virtual elective in interventional radiology (IR) and provide the course framework, student feedback, and potential improvements. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A two-week virtual IR elective curriculum was created utilizing a combination of synchronous and asynchronous learning and the “flipped” classroom educational model. Students virtually participated in daily IR resident education conferences, resident-led case review sessions, and dedicated lectures. Asynchronous pre-learning material consisted of text and video correlating to lecture topics. Anonymous pre-course and post-course surveys were sent to all participating students (n=10). RESULTS: Ten students (100%) completed pre-course and seven (70%) completed post-course surveys. Enrolled students were considering residencies in surgery (50%), internal medicine (40%), interventional radiology (30%), and/or diagnostic radiology (30%). Students’ understanding of what IRs do and the procedures they perform (p<0.001), when to consult IR for assistance in patient management (p=0.005), and the number of IR procedures students could recall (p=0.015) improved after the course. Case-review sessions and virtual lectures ranked as having the highest education value. Students recommended additional small-group case workshops. CONCLUSION: This successful virtual IR elective provides a framework for others to continue IR medical student education during the pandemic and grow the specialty's presence within an increasingly virtual medical school curriculum. The described model may be modified to improve IR education beyond the COVID-19 era.