Virtual Med-Peds: Description of the First Virtual Med-Peds Student Elective During COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: For medical students seeking additional specialty experience in Med-Peds, in-person electives have often been a source of mentorship and guidance. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the ability for the completion of in-person clerkships for medical students across the nation. Virtual opportunities to increase exposure to Med-Peds programs and didactics are lacking at this time.  Objective: To develop a virtual Med-Peds student elective that serves to increase awareness of the Med-Peds specialty, exposure to Med-Peds topics and relevant didactics, and exposure to Med-Peds specific mentorship when on-site clerkships are not available due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Methods: Fifteen medical students participated in a virtual Med-Peds student elective utilizing Zoom (Zoom Inc, San Jose, CA). Three separate cohorts of five students each completed two-week elective experiences. The virtual elective curriculum was created using asynchronous and synchronous learning modalities. Sessions were composed of self-directed learning topics, peer-to-peer interactive case discussions, resident-led didactics, and attending physician-led didactics and mentorship sessions. A pre-survey was administered at the beginning of the elective and a post-survey was administered at the end of the elective to assess the effectiveness of the elective, student experiences with Med-Peds mentors, and students' general perceptions of Med-Peds as a residency application choice.  Results: All students (100%), rated the Med-Peds elective to have exceeded their expectations. All students indicated this elective had been extremely (100%) valuable to increase their understanding and interest in Med-Peds (top rating on a five-point Likert scale). Compared to prior to the elective, most were very likely (87%) or likely (7%) to apply to Med-Peds as their top (preferred) specialty. Similar to pre-survey data, one-third (33%) of the students were still likely to apply to an alternate specialty in addition to Med-Peds. Hundred percent of students indicated that the mentorship component of the elective exceeded their original expectations. While most students indicated that they are much more strongly considering applying to Med-Peds as a top (preferred) specialty, the number of students who continue to consider dual-application to include either categorical Internal Medicine, categorical Pediatrics, or Family Medicine did not differ before and after completion of the virtual elective.  Conclusions: Implementation of a virtual medical student elective focusing on exposure to Med-Peds can strengthen medical students' interest in the combined specialty despite a paucity of previous experiences or an affiliated Med-Peds program. This new type of rotation can positively impact a student's view of a hospital system and a residency program when in-person clinical rotations are not available.