Education and training programs for health professionals’ competence in virtual consultations: a scoping review protocol

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this scoping review is to explore, report, and map the evidence on education and training programs for current and future health professionals' competence in virtual consultations.

INTRODUCTION: Digital solutions, telemedicine, and technologies are increasingly becoming a part of the health system, requiring current and future health professionals to master skills in these domains.

INCLUSION CRITERIA: This review will consider any studies on education and training programs designed to optimize current and future health professionals' competence in virtual consultations in any setting, such as faculties, universities, university colleges, hospitals, or community locations.

METHODS: This review will be guided by the JBI methodology for scoping reviews. Published and unpublished sources of information will be searched for in MEDLINE (PubMed), CINAHL Complete (EBSCOhost), and Scopus. Studies written in English, German, Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian will be considered, with no geographical or cultural limitations. Two independent reviewers will screen retrieved papers, and a standardized tool will be used to extract data from each included source. The results of the extracted data will be presented in tabular format, together with a narrative summary of the evidence.

REVIEW REGISTRATION: Open Science Framework https://osf.io/bsmuy.