Virtual Pediatrics Developmental Assessment Activity

The virtual pediatrics developmental assessment activity is completed via video conference between a medical student and a typically-developing child aged 1-5 years, along with the child's parent. The parent is a fellow or faculty member in the department of pediatrics, but expertise in child development is not essential. Before the video conference, the medical student receives information about developmental milestones and a list of tasks that can help with developmental assessment. The medical student interacts with the child and parent with the goal to assess the child's development and guess the child's age. At the end of the activity, the student relays the guessed age of the child and provides a verbal summary of their reasoning based on developmental milestones observed. Then the student and parent discuss feedback on the student's communication skills. Prior to the activity, the parent receives a short guide highlighting best practices for feedback discussion. This feedback is submitted by either the parent or the student in our School of Medicine electronic evaluation system, according to routine practice for clinical clerkships. This activity fulfills several pediatric competencies as well as allows the student to have an opportunity for real time feedback.