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While allied health students prefer face-to-face clinical placement, telehealth can support competency development : Results from a mixed-methods study
Bacon, Rachel Hopkins, Sian Georgousopoulou, Ekavi N. Nahon, Irmina Hilly, Catherine Millar, CaraJane Flynn, Allyson Smillie, Linda Chapman, Sarah Brown, Nicholas
Bacon, Rachel
Hopkins, Sian
Georgousopoulou, Ekavi N.
Nahon, Irmina
Hilly, Catherine
Millar, CaraJane
Flynn, Allyson
Smillie, Linda
Chapman, Sarah
Brown, Nicholas
Abstract
Introduction: Student clinical placements are a mandatory requirement within most accredited health programs. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many health settings that had traditionally provided placements cancelled their offerings. Telehealth services however, increased and emerged as an alternative placement setting.
Aim: To compare the learning experiences for allied health students provided by telehealth and face-to-face accredited health placements.
Methods: Health students, from a university clinic between March to December 2020, delivering both face-to-face and telehealth consultations, were invited to complete a telephone survey with 3 demographic questions; and 10-items comparing their telehealth and face-to-face learning experiences. Pearson’s chi-squared/Fisher’s exact test was used to examine the association between each item and consultation setting. Qualitative survey data was thematically analysed using a descriptive approach.
Results: 49 students from 2 universities and 5 disciplines completed the survey. Students rated their face-to-face experiences significantly higher than their telehealth experiences across all items (all p-values <0.01). Across 9 items students reported positive learning experiences in both settings. Students had greater opportunities to work in a multidisciplinary team in a face-to-face setting. Four themes were generated: (1) placements can vary in quality regardless of setting; (2) telehealth can provide valuable learning experiences and support competency development; (3) enablers for telehealth placements and (4) barriers for telehealth placements.
Conclusion: While telehealth can support student learning and competency development, in this study students preferred face-to-face experiences. To optimise telehealth placements consideration needs to be given to barriers and enablers such as technological issues and university curricula preparation.
Keywords
health, telehealth, clinical education, student placement, COVID-19
Date
2023
Type
Journal article
Journal
Frontiers in Medicine
Book
Volume
10
Issue
Page Range
1-9
Article Number
Article 1151980
ACU Department
Faculty of Health Sciences
Collections
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
Published as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
License
CC BY 4.0
File Access
Open
Notes
© 2023 Bacon, Hopkins, Georgousopoulou, Nahon, Hilly, Millar, Flynn, Smillie, Chapman and Brown. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.