Smartphones and medical education

A Pilot Study on the Feasibility of Developing and Implementing a Mobile App for the Acquisition of Clinical Knowledge and Competencies by Medical Students Transitioning from Preclinical to Clinical Years

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent restrictions, universities have had to adapt their curricula substantially to new schemes in which remote learning is of the essence. In this study, we assess the feasibility of developing a mobile app supplementary to the distant teaching paradigm for the “Cardiology” module of the “General Pathology” subject in undergraduate Medical Education, and we evaluate its impact and acceptability. A cohort of volunteer second-year medical students (n = 44) had access to the app, and their opinions on its utility (1−10) were collected. Additionally, the students were invited to refer their expected satisfaction (1−10) with a blended learning methodology overlapping this new tool with the traditional resources. The average expected satisfaction had been compared to the average satisfaction obtained by just the traditional methodology in other modules from the same subject. Through a qualitative approach, we defined the strengths and weaknesses of the tool. Seventy-seven percent of the participants rated at 8/10 or more the potential learning value of the application and, if used as a supplement to traditional teaching, it would also statistically improve the satisfaction of students (6.52 vs. 8.70, p < 0.001). Similarly, the qualitative data corroborated the benefits of such innovation. Multidisciplinary collaborations are encouraged to develop teaching innovations, although further research should aim to better define the effectiveness of learning with these resources.

Bring-your-own-device in medical schools and healthcare facilities: A review of the literature

BACKGROUND

Enabling personal mobile device use through a bring-your-own device (BYOD) policy can potentially save significant costs for medical schools and healthcare facilities, as they would not always have to acquire facility-owned devices. The BYOD policy is also perceived as a driver for balancing user needs for convenience with institutional needs for security. However, there seems to be a paucity in the literature on BYOD policy development, policy evaluation, and evaluation of mobile device implementation projects.

OBJECTIVE

This review explored the literature to identify BYOD policy components (issues, interventions, and guidelines) that could potentially inform BYOD policy development and implementation in medical schools and healthcare facilities.

METHODS

A literature search on PubMed, Web of Science, and Ebscohost (Academic Search Premier, ERIC, CINAHL, and MEDLINE) was conducted using the following search terms and their synonyms: healthcare facilities, mobile devices, BYOD, privacy and confidentiality, and health records. We developed a review matrix to capture the main aspects of each article and coded the matrix for emerging themes. The database and hand search yielded 1 594 articles, 14 of which were deemed as meeting the inclusion criteria.

RESULTS

Several themes emerging from the analysis include: device management, data security, medical applications, information technology, education and/or curriculum, policy, and guidelines. The guidelines theme seems to provide a direction for BYOD policy development and implementation while the policy theme seems to be the comprehensive solution that synergizes BYOD implementation.

CONCLUSION

Rather than an approach of 'chasing' issues with interventions, a more feasible approach towards achieving a safe mobile device use environment is through the development of comprehensive BYOD policies that would balance users' need for convenience with organizational security and patient privacy. The paucity in peer-reviewed literature calls for robust research that uses socio-technical approaches to development and evaluation of BYOD policies in medical schools and healthcare facilities.