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: vsmothers@jhmi.edi

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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