Virtual auscultation course for medical students via video chat in times of COVID-19

Introduction: Auscultation skills are among the basic techniques to be learned in medical school. Such skills are achieved through supervised examination of patients often supported by simulator-based learning. The emergence of COVID-19 has disrupted and continues to hinder hands-on on-site medical training on a global scale. Project description: An effective virtual auscultation course was established in times of contact restrictions due to COVID-19 at the Medical Faculty of the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. The interactive case-based webinar was designed to improve listening techniques, description and interpretation of auscultation findings in an off-site context. Clinical cases with pre-recorded auscultation sounds and additional case-based diagnostics were presented. The course focused on common heart murmurs including aortic and mitral valve stenosis and regurgitation as well as congenital heart defects (ventricular septal defect and patent ductus arteriosus). Results: The course was well received by the students and assessed as being useful and instructive. Assessment of learning effects, such as detection of pathological findings before and after training, is ongoing as part of a subsequent trial. Conclusion: Virtual interactive learning using a sound simulation lesson with clinical case presentations via video chat can well be used as a supplement to practical auscultation training. This learning format could also play a useful role in the curriculum of medical studies once contact restrictions are revoked.