The University of Pittsburgh Department of Physician Assistant Studies (PAS) is again leading the way in developing innovative teaching for its students. The department’s PAS-Hybrid program has recently added telehealth to its curriculum, becoming the first hybrid program in the U.S. to incorporate this important communication tool between practitioners and patients. Vice Chair for Innovation and Professor Dipu Patel explains the curriculum and why Pitt PAS students are better positioned after they graduate.
Why Telehealth Medicine is so Important
Telehealth is not a new concept. It has been around for decades. However, it wasn’t until the pandemic that it became mainstream and accepted by patients and providers. There have been misconceptions that telehealth does not provide the same level or quality of care, but that has proven to be incorrect. Although not all visits are appropriate for a telehealth visit, many are and this is where we as healthcare professionals and educators come in. By incorporating telehealth early and frequently in our curriculum, we are setting a new bar and foundation for PA education.
Telehealth will no doubt be part of our future graduates’ practice. Our role as educators is to prepare our students to practice in any setting and that includes the online environment. I think having students prepared to enter the workforce with this skill gives our graduates a leg up, and more importantly, improves patient care and safety.
Telehealth also enables us to teach social determinants of health, digital determinants of health and communication skills to truly connect with patients and their caregivers. It also teaches our students to think outside the box and apply their critical thinking skills to troubleshoot various clinical scenarios that might not be apparent in the in-person environment.
Assistant Professor Susan Graff practices working with Assistant Professor Karthik Hariharan during a simulated telehealth visit
The Telehealth Curriculum
Our approach to teaching telehealth to PA students in our hybrid program is about teaching them the fundamentals of telemedicine practice so that it is part of their future practice. The content we have designed is fully integrated into the curriculum. It begins with a systems-based approach in the History and Physical Exam course and cross pollinates to some clinical medicine courses. While we are still early in the full integration process, we are hopeful that our approach to embedding telemedicine into our curriculum will help our students succeed in rotations and in their future practice.
We teach the material in a number of ways: short videos and presentations, readings and demonstrations on how performing a physical exam can be adapted from an in-person setting to an online setting. We have also partnered with PAs in Virtual Medicine and Telemedicine (PAVMT) to develop these presentations. Furthermore, we have telehealth checklists for each system as well as assessments that allow for both quantitative and qualitative assessment. We are training our students from the beginning to develop a “webside manner.”
The PAS department is perfectly poised to teach telehealth. The hybrid program has masterful faculty who deliver a high quality curriculum; adding telehealth is a natural fit. Our resources and relationships make it approachable and fun! To my knowledge, we are the only program to fully integrate telehealth education into our curriculum--I know for sure we are the first hybrid program to do so and we are not done! There are plans to expand our curriculum and add innovative methods to bring clinical medicine to life.
Raising the Bar for PAs
The best part of learning telehealth in school is that you are prepared to enter the workforce ready with this skill. Practicing in a telehealth environment is a skillset that adds to our practice style. Our students will be better prepared to provide care to patients who may live in rural or underserved areas, care for patients with chronic conditions and coordinate their care, and improve communication with patients. They will be prepared to practice both within the four walls of a clinic and in an online environment. I think this is something that their future employers will value.
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Written by:
Dipu Patel
DMSc, MPAS, PA-C
Vice Chair for Innovation and Professor, Department of PA Studies
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Published July 11, 2023