Recreating the Clinical Competency in the Zoom World of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This virtual Clinic Competency allowed students to demonstrate their ability to meet the objectives outlined in the established rubric. The students exhibited their ability to recognize, diagnose, and discuss appropriate clinical interventions to most adequately address the proper diagnosis of the patient presented in their clinical scenario. The faculty-student interaction in this virtual assessment was successful in mirroring the interaction that would have occurred in a live patient competency setting. Of the 73 virtual assessments administered, four students had a critical error and needed to repeat the assessment. They were all successful in attaining competency in performing a second clinical scenario. Different learning styles may have had an impact on the students' performance on a virtual exam. Further study and modifications of our initial endeavor may prove this type of assessment plays a positive role within the teaching framework by expanding our ability to establish an additional methodology for case presentation and student evaluation. The pandemic highlighted the need for a more diverse range of assessment techniques.