iPad Revolution for Weill Cornell Medical Students

DEVICE REPLACES PRINTED TEXTS FOR 1ST- AND 2ND-YEAR STUDENTS, PROMOTES MOVE FROM PAPER TO ELECTRONIC RECORDKEEPING

NEW YORK (Sept. 15, 2011) — Weill Cornell Medical College students will now have a wealth of medical information and educational tools at their fingertips. Starting this fall 2011 semester, all incoming first- and second-year students are being provided with a new iPad 2 in place of the printed course notes and texts used by most students around the country.

Students will now be able to download course materials, see video or hear audio recordings of lectures, submit electronic course evaluations, access their grades, collaborate with other students, and save their notes and coursework.

"I am very proud that Weill Cornell is one of the first medical colleges in the country to embrace this technology," says Dr. Carol Storey-Johnson, senior associate dean of education at Weill Cornell Medical College. "The iPad will open a world of new learning opportunities for students and dramatically expand the way we train and educate a new generation of physicians. "

iPads in medical schools - are they improving education?

Recently, I had a chance to chat with a number of medical students about their use of iPads in medical school. So many medical students are using iPads in the classroom (regardless of whether their school has an official iPad program).

Last year, the University of California Irvine started giving iPads to first-year medical students. These iPads were loaded with first-year curriculum. Have they made a difference in educational outcomes?

Take a look at how UC Irvine is using the iPad:

UC Irvine’s iMedEd Initiative will foster highly individualized and small-group learning for a richer medical school experience. The program, targeted initially at first-year students, aims to transform the classic lecturer-passive listener model with digital textbooks, online curricula, audio and video libraries, podcasts and other technological advances such as digital stethoscopes and portable ultrasound units.

The pilot program uses Apple’s iPad to digitally house the entire first-year curriculum, outlines, handouts and essential textbooks. The devices, which are provided to each entering student, also are loaded with hundreds of medical applications, note-taking and recording capabilities, and many other tools that complement diverse learning styles. Short, topic-based podcast lectures can be reviewed as often as desired as preparation for small-group discussions.

In addition, the encrypted tablet is a platform for complementary technologies that enhance the curriculum. Students using digital stethoscopes can listen to a patient’s heart then transmit the audio and visual data for comparison with a library of heart beat sounds, allowing for better interpretation and increased comprehension. 

The iMedEd Initiative also is integrating portable ultrasound devices into the curriculum, providing students with a noninvasive diagnostic tool to examine internal organs and blood flow. Specially designed iPad applications let students consult video tutorials as they perform bedside ultrasounds, enabling them to review normal and abnormal examinations and track procedures for quality assurance.

I look forward to seeing some data from this pilot project. There's definitely a growing opportunity to leverage interactivity and multimedia in the classroom. As long as educators are using these tools effectively, we should see improvements in the medical school education experience.

Mobile Learning: Ensuring Implementation Success

There's a free webinar coming up that looks like it's going to be very relevant to mobile technology and education.

Mobile Learning: Ensuring Implementation Success

The success of your mobile learning programs requires more than just having the right technology, great content, and effective design. To be successful you need a well thought out implementation plan that ensures your learners are engaged, your managers are motivated, and your organization is energized. By integrating proven techniques and approaches from change management, communications, and consumer marketing you can increase awareness, involvement, and acceptance - at all levels of your organization. The proven I-3 Change Implementation Model provides the blueprint for an effective plan. In this webinar, Lance Dublin, co-author of the ASTD capstone book, “Implementing e-Learning” and the Chief Solution Architect of Dublin Consulting, will present the model and share with you what works and what doesn’t – and why.

In addition, Supra Manohar, VP Emantras, will lay the groundwork to get a mobile initiative started, implemented, and successful (using Mobl21), specifically addressing some of the requirements for target segments, K-12, Higher Ed, and Enterprise. Definition of basic functions like educational requirements, device specific strategies, content strategies, and most importantly becoming a part of an ever growing community of mobile adopters - sharing stories and best practices. How to use the Mobl21 community and team to receive information from other adopters and gain expertise from a collective intelligence.

Learn more and register for this event here.

More medical students using the iPad to enhance their education

Recently, I've had the opportunity to chat with medical students who've been using the new Apple iPad to enhance their education. Why is the iPad so useful for medical students? The main reason is because the medical school curriculum is based on a significant amount of hands-on learning. Gross anatomy isn't the only class where you're in the lab. However, it's a good example where multimedia devices like the iPad can enhance learning.

The iPad is also great for medical students who may be struggling with physiology. It can be difficult to understand all the principles outline in a textbook. However, the minute you begin to view the physiologic changes in the heart or the lungs on a multimedia device, physiology comes to life. Learning reaches a whole new level when you're using multimedia.

So, do medical students think that the iPad is enhancing their education? The iPad isn't simply for those who wish to take notes during class. It can enhance the learning experience and help students through some of the most difficult classes in medical school. I'm sure that over the next 1 or 2 years, we'll see some published data on the use of the iPad in medical school. Who's going to fund such a study? Apple!

Interactive content will soon replace static medical textbooks

Given the recent success of the Apple iPad, I'm convinced that interactive content will soon replace static textbooks. Medical students will have access to interactive textbooks that include video and multimedia animations. Such interactivity will enhance the educational experience and allow students to learn much more efficiently.

I envy students today. They have access to such innovative technological resources. Makes me want want to go back to school so that I can learn something.

For pleasure reading, static books will still remain popular. However, I'm sure that we'll see educational textbooks reach an entirely new level as publishers incorporate interactive content for students. We're already seeing the application of interactive content in the world of continuing medical education (CME). Physicians are getting more accustomed to learning on the Internet. Now, the iPad allows all of us to take the Internet to the next level of mobility.

The iPad as a patient empowerment tool

Patients want to be empowered. Physicians want their patients to improve the self-management of chronic conditions. Will the new Apple iPad bridge some of these gaps and become an effective patient empowerment tool?

On one hand, the iPad can be used by health care providers to teach patients about diseases and conditions. Imagine if every patient went to a doctor's visit with an iPad. The doctor could help the patient record some notes, access important patient education materials, and could also provide the patient with some digital media that could be used to help that patient manage his/her disease when he/she returns home. Patients frequently forget the majority of the conversation after leaving the doctor's office, so why not leverage digital media technology to capture some of the key points during that encounter with the physician?

When the patient gets home, imagine if he/she were to use the iPad as an entertainment device. Suddenly, the device could beep and remind the patient to take his/her pills. Also, a reminder could pop up to remind the patient to watch the disease management video that highlights some of the lifestyle modifications this patient needs to make over the next few weeks. The patient could record progress on the iPad and take the device to his/her next visit.

• The large screen on the iPad is ideal for those who have poor vision.
• The iPad is thin and light. It can be carried almost anywhere.
• Most doctors will know how to use an iPad. Don't they already use the iPhone?
• The iPad is easy for many people to use. After all, who's never used an iPod touch or an iPhone?
• The multimedia capabilities found on the iPad can be used to teach and empower patients.

Some have said that 2010 will be the year of the tablet PC. I think it's going to be the year when mobile slate devices begin to revolutionize health care.

Omega-3 fatty acids and our health

We've recently seen many reports talking about the health benefits of fish oils and omega-3 fatty acids. We've seen many health-related websites pop up such as http://www.omega3.org and others. Where did all of this excitement around omega-3 come from? Well, observational studies have shown that Greenland Eskimos who eat large amounts of fish have very low rates of heart attacks and other major cardiovascular events. Should we be eating more fish to avoid heart attacks? I enjoy eating fish, so I have no problems increasing my fish consumption on a routine basis. However, I know that many individuals either don't like fish or some are even allergic to fish. Maybe they need to use their computers and visit http://www.omega3.org to explore their options.

In a fairly recent clinical study, investigators noted that the use of omega-3 fatty acids decreased resting heart rate and also improved 1-minute heart rate recovery following exercise. This study was published in 2006 in the Am J Cardiol. One 2006 systematic review published in the journal Atherosclerosis explored how omega-3 impacted levels of triglycerides, HDL-C and LDL-C. HDL-C is the good type of cholesterol, so we want that to be high. Omega-3 lowers triglycerides and raises HDL-C and both of these are good changes. However, omega-3 also appears to raise LDL-C which is the bad cholesterol. So before you start taking any type of nutritional supplement, make sure to discuss things with your personal health care provider.

You can learn more about omega-3 fatty acids by visiting sites like http://www.omega3.org. Now that we've started the New Year, do you plan to eat more fish? Can't eat fish? Allergic to fish? Maybe you'll want to talk with your health care provider about taking some omega-3 fatty acid supplements. Become an empowered consumer in the New Year! Do your research by using the Internet and gain knowledge about the health effects of omega-3 fatty acids so that you can make an informed decision.

Tablet PCs on CSI

I don't usually watch television at home. I'm too busy blogging. However, when I'm at the gym, I'll turn on the television and watch shows like CSI (Crime Scene Investigation). Here's what draws me to the show: they use tablet PCs and other cool gadgets in the lab. You don't see many slate tablets out there among consumers. Slates are primarily used in the vertical market. However, I use a convertible Lenovo Thinkpad X200 tablet and I love it. I'm a huge fan of tablets and I think that they are underutilized in both healthcare and education. They are much more interactive than standard computers and I think we're going to see them make a comeback someday. They're gaining some traction within the medical community, but once again, this is a vertical market. Will the release of an Apple Tablet put fire back into the tablet market?

Netbooks for Medical Students

I often get asked, "are netbooks appropriate for medical students?"

This is somewhat controversial. On one hand, netbooks are small, cheap, and light. Sounds perfect for students! However, they have a tiny screen and this can significantly hinder performance and work productivity. If you're planning on using your netbook to send e-mails, do instant messaging, and other non-work-related tasks, then a netbook might be the perfect little gadget to add to your collection of mobile phone for texting. However, if a student is serious about getting some real productivity out of a laptop, then I would suggest getting something that has a screen size of 12" or more (ideally around 14" so that it's not monstrous to lug around Starbucks or Barnes and Noble).