As telehealth becomes embedded in medical education, one area with growing potential is teleICU education. In this model, fourth-year medical students on their critical care elective can observe, participate, and even lead virtual rounds. This integration of telehealth curriculum helps students become comfortable with modern healthcare delivery. Focusing specifically on critical care medicine, tele-ICU training offers a unique, in-depth learning experience; students can observe how specialists manage complex cases and handle critical-illness care in real time, even when professionals aren’t physically on site.

Studies show that teleICU systems improve access to specialist care and support high-quality decision-making through continuous monitoring, alert systems, and clinician collaboration, which are critical for medical student success. For instance, the Perelman School of Medicine launched a pilot “eMedical Student” (eMS) program that placed third- and fourth-year medical students within a tele-ICU environment. Over the rotation, students followed critically ill patients, documented interventions, and led virtual rounds under the mentorship of remote intensivists, dramatically expanding tele-critical care training opportunities.[1] This coursework supports improved decision-making through continuous monitoring, alert systems, and clinician collaboration. [2]

By giving students structured exposure to critical care decision-making and interdisciplinary communication, teleICU platforms help bridge the gaps in clinical experience that many hospitals face. This approach prepares future physicians to practice confidently in a healthcare landscape where virtual collaboration is becoming the norm.[3]

  1. Ho J, Susser P, Christian C, DeLisser H, Scott MJ, Pauls LA, Huffenberger AM, Hanson CW 3rd, Chandler JM, Fleisher LA, Laudanski K. Developing the eMedical Student (eMS)-A Pilot Project Integrating Medical Students into the Tele-ICU during the COVID-19 Pandemic and beyond. Healthcare (Basel). 2021 Jan 14;9(1):73. doi: 10.3390/healthcare9010073. PMID: 33466781; PMCID: PMC7829880. ↑

  2. Khurrum M, Asmar S, Joseph B. Telemedicine in the ICU: Innovation in the Critical Care Process. J Intensive Care Med. 2021 Dec;36(12):1377-1384. doi: 10.1177/0885066620968518. Epub 2020 Oct 28. PMID: 33111599. ↑

  3. Cheng, C., Humphreys, H. & Kane, B. Transition to telehealth. Ir J Med Sci 191, 2405–2422 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-021-02720-1 ↑