OSU Medical Students Using Technology to Enhance Education, Research and Patient Care

Since 2007 when OSU’s College of Medicine first began issuing Apple iPods to all incoming students, the use of technology typically directed at consumers has continued to advance the educational, research and patient care experiences of these doctors in training.  Most recently a third-year med student, Justin Harper, has begun using the portable media player and a program widely used in the entertainment industry to condense classroom material and lectures into compressed files that can be reviewed in about two thirds the time the actual classroom lectures take.  Lectures are compressed by removing breaks, pauses, extraneous noises and other non-essential video and audio elements.  The technology can speed up playback and reduce a 50-minute lecture to roughly 30 minutes without losing content.

“Now [the students] can study when they’re refreshed and delve into topics not as easily understood, as often as they want and at the speed in which they want,” said Dr. Catherine Lucey, vice dean for education at the College of Medicine. 

At the bedside, the iPods, along with specially developed software programs, help medical students answer patient questions with instant access to the most recent medical journals and literature.  Additionally, patients can watch videos of surgical procedures and medical treatments and be prepared with what to expect, thus lessening their fears and enhancing the quality of their care. 

According to Lucey, the availability of medical applications for repetitive “virtual” practice has increased tremendously.  “Going forward we are collaborating with our colleagues at Ohio State’s College of Engineering and other companies to develop applications that will supplement the techniques we teach, so our students receive increased exposure to repetitive practice.”

For more on this story, see the release from OSU Medical Center