Doug Knutson

Lessons learned: developing e-learning to teach physical examination

M edical education is changing. Traditionally, the pre-clinical years revolved around the lecture hall. Students, buried under textbooks and notes, looked forward to their clinical years, which gave them their first opportunity to interact with ‘real patients’. While these older techniques still continue, medical students in the twenty-first century are engaging with a profession where ever-advancing technologies put access to information and resources at their fingertips, and many medical schools are embracing technology to augment and enhance their traditional teaching materials. The term ‘e-learning’ has evolved to describe all types of on-line or off-line computer-based study.

Using web-based technology to teach physical examination

groups consist of infants under 12 months old; children aged 1)8 years, and children aged over 8 years. The teenage apprentice is educated in singlerescuer procedures. As he starts a new step, he reviews the concepts he learned before. His thinking appears at the top of the screen and his tutor’s thinking at the bottom. They dialogue during the animation and their voices show the stress of the circumstances. Internet users are able to repeat the animation and clarify technical terms by activating a glossary. The software is available on the Internet free of charge and is accessible by dial-up or low-bandwidth connections, both of which are important considerations in our country. Evaluation of results and impact We surveyed medical students’ acquisition after exposure to this. Both Year 2 medical students, who had undergone 6 months of traditional training, and new incomers participated. Both groups showed a significant increase in the number of right answers after navigation of the software. The results showed that the software is an effective resource for teaching theoretical knowledge of PBLS. The impact of this tool can be evaluated by the number of hits on the website. More than 11 000 people accessed the site in 14 months.