ORCID

Abstract

AbstractBackground: Despite growing professional utilization, there is limited understanding of how allied healthstudents are prepared for telehealth practice through academic coursework and placements. This studyinvestigates students’ exposure to telehealth education, their perceptions of preparedness, and the competenciesthey believe are needed for graduate practice.Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted between October 2024 and March 2025 across twoAustralian universities offering 24 allied health courses. The survey, adapted from existing tools and informedby telehealth competency frameworks, collected quantitative and qualitative data on students’ telehealthlearning experiences, placement exposure, and perceived competency needs. Descriptive statistics and contentanalysis were used to analyze and interpret the data.Results: Of the 108 respondents from 21 disciplines, only 30% reported receiving telehealth education intheir coursework, with most learning limited to background knowledge and delivered via online lectures orself-directed modules. Practical skills such as telehealth session setup and communication were less frequentlytaught, and only 9.3% of students were assessed on telehealth competencies. Placement exposurewas similarly limited, with 25% of students engaging in telehealth activities, primarily through observation.Students rated placement support more positively than coursework preparation. Content analysis revealedstrong alignment between student-identified graduate competencies and published telehealth frameworks,including technical proficiency, communication, clinical adaptation, and ethical considerations.Discussion: Findings highlight significant gaps in telehealth education across allied health programs.Students expressed a preference for hands-on, experiential learning and identified a need for structured,competency-based curricula. The lack of assessment and inconsistent integration of telehealth content suggestpoor alignment between learning outcomes and educational delivery. Educators should adopt establishedtelehealth competency frameworks and enhance both academic and placement-based training tobetter prepare students for using telehealth in contemporary practice.

Publication Date

2025-10-20

Publication Title

Telemedicine Reports

Volume

6

Issue

1

Acceptance Date

2025-09-19

Deposit Date

2025-10-23

Keywords

telehealth, allied health students, education, training

First Page

352

Last Page

362

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