The Case for Instructional Teams in the New Era of Online Medical Education

After a period of “emergency remote teaching” precipitated by COVID-19, academic medical centers are moving into a second, more mature phase in online education. This article offers guidance to institutions planning for this second phase. In it, we advocate a reorientation towards “instructional teams;” outline typical roles and skill sets on instructional teams; discuss the hardware, software, and space required to develop high-quality online courses; and describe common pitfalls experienced by instructional teams along with strategies to avoid them. Our objective is to help institutions hoping to develop high-quality, sustainable online programming to set realistic and informed expectations, allocate resources intelligently, hire appropriately, and work productively.