Virtual Shadowing: An Effective Approach to Gaining Exposure to the Field of Emergency Medicine

Figures & data

Table 1 This Table is a Summarization of the Theme of Each Survey Question with the Respective Participant Response Rate for Each Theme. The 5-Point Likert Scale Used for Each Theme is Listed Above the Survey Response Rates

	Survey Responses
Focus of Question	Response Frequencies Across 5-point Scales
	Very Effective	Effective	Not Sure	Ineffective	Very Ineffective
Effectiveness as exposure to EM	10.7%	71.4%	10.7%	5.4%	1.8%
	Much more satisfied	More satisfied	Equally satisfied	Less satisfied	Much less satisfied
Satisfaction with virtual compared to in-person	1.8%	1.8%	26.8%	60.7%	8.9%
	Definitely yes	Likely yes	Unsure	Likely no	Definitely no
Would participate again?	71.4%	23.2%	3.6%	1.8%	0.0%
Participate in another specialty?	66.1%	19.6%	10.7%	3.6%	0.0%
Recommend to others?	41.2%	47.1%	5.8%	5.8%	0.0%
Would choose virtual over in-person?	0.0%	0.0%	11.7%	29.4%	58.8%
	Much more likely with virtual	More likely with virtual	Equally likely	Less likely with virtual	Much less likely with virtual
Find faculty mentor	1.8%	10.7%	26.8%	41.1%	19.6%
Build rapport with peers	10.7%	19.6%	17.9%	44.6%	7.1%

Abbreviation: EM, Emergency Medicine.

Box 1 This Box Has Grouped the Most Common Themed Feedback from Students in the Post-Survey Free Response Section

Themed Student Feedback
Convenient with exposure to wide variety of cases Getting to see some of what goes on in the ED while avoiding COVID exposure; small time commitment. – Student
Real time discussions about cases We were able to ask questions and get prompt answers. - Student
Easy first introduction to EM I thought that the virtual shadowing was helpful to get a better feel for what it is like to work in the ED, which I greatly appreciated. - Student
Various technology issues (audio, video, etc.) It was a bit difficult to hear during the experience when we were not in a patient room.[maybe] the attending physician could use a microphone. - Student
Meaningful relationships I wish I could have connected more with the people on the Zoom as well as with personnel in the ED. - Student
Extra work for physicians …to have someone worrying about a laptop every second… isn’t realistic, so I understand why at times the [iPad] was pushed to the side. - Student

Abbreviations: EM, Emergency Medicine; ED, Emergency Department.