Erasmus Project BeEmTel – “Advancing Telemedicine for Non-Communicable Diseases: Simulation-Based Approaches and e-Learning Platform Evaluation”

Introduction. The key topics of e-health are education and training. The European Erasmus project BeEmTel aimed to create an innovative European curriculum dedicated to Telecare for chronic diseases and emergencies through educational tools based on an e-learning platform and on remote simulation techniques. Aim. To describe the experience regarding the introduction of an online telemedicine and telesimulation course applied to chronic diseases on some degree and academic career courses. Methods. The online course has lasted from May 15, 2023 to January 15, 2024, on the e-learning Moodle platform managed by Simnova. The students’ population came from the nursing and medical faculties or departments of the four Partner Universities. The e-course has been structured into three sections: Non-Communicable Disease & Emergency, Health Simulation & Telecare, and New Forms of Proximity, with video lessons and resources, and a quiz area. Two immersive weeks have been reserved for a selected group of students. For the evaluation of the e-learning platform and the simulation method, we have referred to the first two levels of Donald Kirkpatrick’s model: user feedback, linked to the student’s reaction and level of satisfaction with the educational activity, and learning content, concerning learning and knowledge assessment. Results. Among 394 participants, 38% have consistently attended the course, following a total of 57 theoretical lessons and 14 lectures using a tel-esimulation/telemedicine approach, and 31% have responded to the survey. Most of them have found the topics interesting (93.4%) and the lessons clear (81%), the platform interface has been considered user-friendly, although with certain practical problems; 91% of learners have been satisfied with the course overall. In terms of the two immersive weeks, all participating learners have been satisfied with the general organization. When analyzing the measures of association considering both degree course and nationality, only one association was statistically significant (“Do you think telemedicine courses should be integrated into your degree program?”, Chi-squared test p-value=0.013). Conclusions. The BeEmTel Erasmus+ Project has emerged as an innovative educational experience, effectively introducing the concept of telemedicine to healthcare students across different countries and academic disciplines, irrespective of their previous background or attitudes. Students have demonstrated strong receptiveness to this approach. The student audience has found the type of instruction useful in preparing for careers in the healthcare field. Notably, both in-person medical simulation and “tel-esimulation” have been proved to be effective pedagogical practices.