2013
2013; 35: 271
COMMENTARY
Supporting learners in atechnology-mediated world
VALERIE SMOTHERS1, NANCY DAVIS2 & RACHEL ELLAWAY3
1MedBiquitous, USA, 2Association of American Medical Colleges, USA, 3Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Canada
Information and communication technology is pervasive in
health care environments. From the smart phones we carry in
our pockets to the electronic health records tracking patient
data and clinician treatment decisions, digital technologies
have become a part of daily practice for many healthcare
practitioners. And yet, as educators we do not often make the
best use of these technologies in supporting our learners’
transition to clinical practice.
This issue of Medical Teacher contains two articles focusing
on the use of technology in health professions education and
continuous professional development. The articles are based
on sessions at the MedBiquitous Annual Conference May 2–4,
2012 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. MedBiquitous develops
technology standards to advance the health professions, and
the conference focused on the use of technology to transform
health professions education across the continuum (Smothers
et al. 2008a,b).
The article from Ellaway and colleagues focuses on the use
of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) in medical education. The
authors reviewed the literature on the intersection between
EHRs and medical education, and the results were rather
sobering. EHRs are often omitted from or tangential to the
medical education experience. When they have been inte-
grated into medical education, the result often lacked the
modeling, training, and support necessary for success with
both clinical faculty and learners. While there is widespread
belief in the benefits of EHRs when implemented appro-
priately (Committee on Patient Safety and Health Information
Technology, Institute of Medicine 2012), systemic change is
necessary for these benefits to translate to medical education
to adequately prepare learners for practice in EHR-supported
practices.
The article from Gordon and Campbell focuses on the use
of electronic portfolio technology to support the continuing
professional development of physicians in Canada. The
picture here is more optimistic: building on educational
theory, the experiences of portfolios implemented in other
educational contexts, and experience with previous profes-
sional development efforts, the groundwork is laid for success.
The system developed by the Royal College of Physicians and
Surgeons of Canada for professional development of its
members supports reflection and continuous improvement,
while streamlining physician documentation through inter-
operability with existing systems.
Health system technologies and learning technologies serve
as important tools in the education and support of healthcare
professionals. But their implementation does present a change
to workflows, roles, and responsibilities. To succeed, there
must be a cultural shift among learners, educators, and their
institutions. With appropriate planning and support, we can
prepare learners and educators for practice and continuing
improvement in a technology-mediated world. We must learn
from our collective experiences to develop appropriate and
evolving best practices that reflect the context of the complex
learning ecologies that define contemporary health professions
education.
Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of
interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and
writing of the paper.
Notes on contributors
VALERIE SMOTHERS is Deputy Director, MedBiquitous, the ANSI-
accredited developer of information technology standards for healthcare
education and quality improvement.
DR NANCY DAVIS, Ph.D., is Director of Practice-Based Learning and
Improvement, Association of American Medical Colleges.
DR RACHEL ELLAWAY, Ph.D., is Assistant Dean of Curriculum and
Planning, Northern Ontario School of Medicine.
References
Smothers V, Ellaway R, Greene P. 2008a. The E-learning evolution-
leveraging new technology approaches to advance healthcare educa-
tion. Med Teach 30(2):117–118.
Smothers V, Greene P, Ellaway R, Detmer D. 2008b. Sharing innovation:
The case for technology standards in health professions education.
Med Teach 30(2):150–154.
Committee on Patient Safety and Health Information Technology,
Institute of Medicine. 2012. ‘‘Summary.’’ Health IT and patient safety:
Building safer systems for better care. Washington, D.C.: The National
Academies Press.
Correspondence: Valerie Smothers, Johns Hopkins at Mt. Washington, 5801 Smith Ave, Davis Suite 3110C, Baltimore, MD 21209, USA. Tel: þ1-410-
735-6142; fax: þ1-410-735-4660; email: [email protected]
ISSN 0142–159X print/ISSN 1466–187X online/13/040271–1 � 2013 Informa UK Ltd. 271DOI: 10.3109/0142159X.2013.773397
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