Virtual student-transplant patient interactions empower patients and enhance student transplantation knowledge

Abstract Introduction There is variation in exposure to transplantation in undergraduate medical education. We created a program pairing medical students with transplant patients for semi-structured, virtual encounters and studied the impact on both students and patients using qualitative content analysis. Methods Fifty medical students were paired with transplant recipients and donors for non-medical virtual encounters. Separate focus groups were conducted, deidentified, and analyzed using a constant comparative method. Results Three themes related to the student experience emerged: transplant-related relationships, a deeper understanding of the patient's journey to transplant, and alterations of their personal view of organ donation and transplantation. Three themes emerged from the patient's experiences: the benefits of conversations, the patient as a teacher, and spreading the message of organ donation and transplantation. Conclusions This novel program demonstrates that virtual student-patient interactions are a useful approach to engage patients and a unique way to teach medical students about transplantation and donation.