Efficacy and feasibility of teledermatology for paediatric medical education

Abstract

We evaluated a teledermatology consultation service in the education of medical trainees. The selection of cases for consultation was at the discretion of the trainees, who could contact the study team for advice about obtaining photographs and submitting the case to a web-based system. Asynchronous structured feedback was provided to trainees by an academic paediatric dermatology consultant using a web-based interface. Efficacy was evaluated by examining the trainees' self-reported competency in clinical dermatology skills before and after teleconsultation. A total of 44 trainees (31 residents and 13 medical students) completed 50 consultations. Trainees reported significant improvement (mean improvement 22%, P < 0.002) in competency in five of the six areas assessed. In addition, 88% of trainees were very satisfied with the teaching methodology (> or =5 on a 7-point scale) and 86% were very likely to apply the information in their future practice (> or =5 on a 7-point scale). We believe that teledermatology has great potential in the education of medical trainees.