Further information

1. Established use of ePortfolios & Logbooks in the MBBS programme of Newcastle University • http://www.eportfolios.ac.uk • Established use of PDAs & wireless network at the James Cook University Hospital (JCUH) as part of the “Hospital at Night” Scheme http://www.ibleep.net Logbook Typically liked: “I was able to check my emails whilst in the hospital and could go on line to research conditions and I could look up definitions of diseases with the PDA dictionary” “accessing the internet from any site in the hospitalbeing able to make notes about things easily and write a to-do list” Typically disliked: “We were given it too late in the term for me to find it beneficial.” “[it was a] pain to carry around, nowhere to put it” Clip-on carry pouches provided after early feedback “The PDA wireless connections at the hospital were erratic. The battery did not last a whole day” Large capacity spare battery packs provided Logbook: “it impressed the doctors I asked to sign me off, it was easy to use online.” “Encouraged me to fill it there and then” “[didn’t like] Having to fill in reflections first before being able to get the competency signed” Evaluating the use of hand-held computers to access electronic portfolios and clinical guidelines in a wireless environment for undergraduate medical education • Cotterill SJ1, Jones S2, Walters RA2, Horner P1, Moss JD1, McDonald AM1 • On behalf of the CETL4HealthNE • School of Medical Education Development, Newcastle University • James Cook University Hospital, South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust • Background • This pilot study, funded by CETL4HealthNE, builds on: • Aims • to test the feasibility of using PDAs to support undergraduate Medicine • evaluate the educational and support impact of the use of PDAs to provide students with wireless access to formulae, clinical guidelines, electronic portfolios and other Web-based materials. • Logbook/Portfolio • The Web-based portfolio includes log books for specific rotations in which a limited number sub-set of procedures with reflection require sign-off by a supervisor. Supervisors can sign-off procedures on the student’s PDA using a scribe in a similar way in which they would sign-off a paper-based log book (saved as a graphic) without the need to log on. • Subjects and Methods • The initial pilot study involved 30 Stage 5 medical students doing their clinical rotations at JCUH during March/April 2006. Students were given a pre and post use questionnaire collecting both quantitative & qualitative data. Feedback was also collected through a focus group. • Limitations • The pilot began mid-way through a rotation • Wireless connectivity on wards but not in Education centre • Reconfigured network: = limited access after week 2 • Results • Students found access to Web-based formulae, hospital guidelines & external Web resources via the PDA useful • 21 students created a total of 207 log-book entries and collected 5 supervisors’ signaturesover a 2 week period • Practical issues addressed during pilot (clip-on pouches to improve portability + higher capacity batteries). • Conclusions / Future Plans • This pilot demonstrates the feasibility of using PDAs for wireless access to Web-based formulae, guidelines and log-books in the context of undergraduate Medicine. • Extended pilots of full rotations planned for 2006/7 including new ‘value added’ features of Hospital at Night (peer-to-peer communications) to be evaluated in this context. Further information http://www.eportfolios.ac.uk http://www.CETL4HealthNE.ac.uk Simon Cotterill (s.j.cotterill@ncl.ac.uk) Dr Tony McDonald (tony.mcdonald@ncl.ac.uk)