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Review and innovation; the use of the tablets/mobile devices in medical undergraduate education S Sinha, S McRobbie, A Meldrum, C Brown, A Dennison, Institute of Education for Medicine and Dental Sciences, University of Aberdeen
Background and Purpose Mobile technology, such as tablets and smartphones, is now firmly embedded within the continuum of medical education, mirroring wider societal trends. In the UK, smartphones have overtaken laptops as the device most commonly used to access the internet. Ninety percent of 16-24 year olds own one, ‘using it for nearly two hours every day to…access social media, bank and shop online’ (Ofcom, 2015).
Streamlining OSCEs
Hochlehenert et al. (2015) suggested that the use of tablets in OSCEs was acceptable and well received by both student and examiner. Features highlighted positively by examiners was the function of a timer on the mobile device and many examiners also felt they could concentrate better on the student during the assessment
In the clinical environment; of 175 UK doctors surveyed, 82% of them owned a smartphone, and 59% used them at work to access information on the internet/intranet (Fuller R, 2015). Innovative applications include Google Glass, which is being used in cardiothoracic surgery at the University of California to bring radiology images into the surgeon’s field of vision whilst operating (Guze, 2015). Hardware add-ons can be used to turn smartphones into clinical tools such as thermometers, spirometers, otoscopes, ophthalmoscopes and ultrasound probes. They have been subjected to prospective clinical trials and many are FDA approved to produce clinically reliable data. Arguably this could be of financial benefit in a higher education setting if medical schools simply have to buy attachments for mobile phones (Gaglani MS, 2014). We explored the use of mobile technology in the undergraduate medical curriculum, and highlight innovative areas of practice at the University of Aberdeen.
Methodology A scoping literature search using the keywords ‘mobile technology’ and ‘ipads/tablets/ smartphones’ in undergraduate medical education, was carried out of Google Scholar, Embase, Medline and ERIC (Educational Research Information Centre) to identify relevant articles regarding tablet usage in medical undergraduate curriculums.
Results and Discussion As the illustrative examples opposite demonstrate, the use of mobile technology can significantly enhance the experience of stakeholders in medical education, including students, patients and higher education institutions alike. In particular, student benefits of mobile learning (m-learning) include flexibility and portability thus facilitating ‘anytime’ learning.
Moving Towards a Digital Hospital
Oxford University have made significant strides towards ‘the digital hospital in which all sources of patient information are linked and all healthcare staff are interconnected” Tarassenko L, 2013
An area of innovative practice at the University of Aberdeen is the use of iPads for streamlining the medical school admissions process; the Multiple Mini Interview (MMI). This has replaced the traditional panel interview. It is very much stylised on the OSCE set-up where applicants will rotate through a number of stations. Students are marked via an assessment app on iPads. Assessor training includes a formal presentation, videos to watch remotely on an example of a good and bad candidate, as well as ‘hands on’ practice on the demo iPads using MMI software. During each MMI, the IT team (MediCAL) are present to ensure any issues (if they were to arise) can be rectified. Moreover, there is a timer in the top right hand corner of the iPad which allows the interviewer the ability to timely guide the candidate through the interview and ensure they have a chance to answer each question and gain a mark for that section. There are currently no studies published on searching PubMed in relation to MMIs and mobile technology. Hence, the authors believe that this is an innovative and resourceful approach. The use of the iPad has been met with positive response in post MMI. For instance, some interviewer responses have included: 100%
‘I was particularly impressed with the iPads used to score the applicants. They were very simple to use and I cannot imagine why anyone would wish to go back to the old-style paper and pen method’
M
9:45 A iPad
‘The iPad system was excellent, and worked very well’.
‘I’ve never used an iPad before but having a shot and quick training on it prior to the session was helpful and sufficient’ To conclude, embedding mobile technology into medical education has the potential to enhance current teaching, and improve the student learning experience. It is important this tool is used to its full potential and further studies will inform what strategies and contexts are optimum.
References
Grava-Gubins I, Scott S: Effects of various methodologic strategies: Survey response rates among Canadian physicians and physicians-in-training. Can Fam Physician. 2008, 54: 1424-1430. Guze, P.A., 2015. Using Technology to Meet the Challenges of Medical Education. Transactions of the American Clinical and Climatological Association, 126, p.260.
Virtual Medic
Insta-feedback
This method of collating learner feedback has a number of potential advantages: the data can be obtained immediately (as opposed to delayed email-based or delayed paper-based surveys which generally have a lower response rate (Brown 2015)
‘Second Life’ is a virtual world where users exist through avatars and can visit islands or areas of learning. Avatars can interact with information provided by institutions such as Pubmed and medical schools (Guze, 2015)
