**7.3 Can clinical posting be done virtually?**

An important aspect of medical education is patient interaction through clinical postings. At the beginning of the pandemic, this was considered non-resolving challenge, since clinical rotations cannot be replaced by distant virtual learning. However with the threat of second, third and fourth wave and emergence of various variants, much has been done to address this issue as well. Imperial College London created an online bank of patient interviews and interactive cases to supplement clinical study. Many university hospitals are piloting the concept of virtual bedside teaching to avoid overcrowding of clinical areas. Clinicians through the use of specially designed headsets provide feedback to students regarding patient examination findings. However, its feasibility on a larger scale across countries still needs to be explored further [53].

Mayo clinic used the tele-consultation through zoom meetings or video conferences to allow direct patient interaction with students [60]. Such adaptation can be fruitful to cover short term disruption of clinical teaching during peak of COVID waves, however it is hard to believe that it is as effective as learning through physical interaction.

A study conducted in US reported positive feedback of medical students doing clerkship in Emergency Medicine [61]. The students were involved in follow-up care of patients through zoom meetings, conducted under direct supervision of faculty preceptors. They felt more involved and valued the opportunity of engaging with the faculty for critical thinking.
