How to incorporate telemedicine in medical residency: A Brazilian experience in pediatric emergency

Abstract

Introduction: The exponential growth of telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic led to the implementation of a telemedicine care service in a tertiary university pediatric hospital. It brought the need to develop a training aimed at remote care within the pediatric emergency rotation program.

Objective: To describe the implementation of a telemedicine training for pediatric residents and present the preliminary results.

Methods: Descriptive prospective study (pre and post), with 40 resident physicians of the first year of pediatrics. Reaction Assessments were applied before and after training, in addition to a resident physician perception questionnaire at the end of the training.

Results: There was a significant difference in the resident's perception of experience and safety after initial training. Most rated the proposal as good or excellent, considered teaching telemedicine relevant and that this experience contributed to their learning on the subject.

Conclusion: This study describes an innovative proposal for training in telemedicine. The preliminary results were encouraging, demonstrating the program's potential in training future pediatricians.

Keywords: Education; Pediatric emergency; Pediatrics; Residency; Telemedicine.