Page 2 - OK to Proceed - Ch 3 The Role of Digital Media in Medical Education

3 The Role case study animation

of Digital Media

in Medical

Education

Vafa Akhtar-Khavari

Rafael Ortega

Modern-day technologies have changed the face Learning Objectives
of learning. Educational programs, once limited to
restrictive linear instructional tools such as lectures 1. Define multimedia.
and textbooks, are now experimenting with technol-
ogies that enable customization, more accurate rep- 2. Describe how multimedia
resentation of mult ifaceted objects of learning, and is used in medical education.
improved accessibility. Technology is transforming
1
classrooms both physically (e.g., through the use of 3. Understand the advantages and
computers, interactive white boards, etc.) and peda- disadvantages of multimedia.
gogically (e.g., through flipped classrooms).
OK to Proceed: What Every Health Care Provider
Should Know About Patient Safety is the first text of
its kind to capitalize on the strength of multimedia A CASE STUDY
technology to convey complex concepts in patient
safety. Animations, case reenactments, and in-text The city of Boston was threatened by a viral infectious
illustrations are but a few of the complementary mul- disease. Boston Medical Center’s health care provid-
timedia elements provided in this innovative volume ers required immediate training in the use of personal
to engage the learner. In this chapter, we will explore protective equipment. The hospital’s clinical educators
the role of technology in medical education, and spe- designed a multimedia presentation describing this
cifically focus on the value of employing multimedia procedure. The presentation, which was distributed
technology to improve learning outcomes. over the hospital’s digital network to reach the highest
Medical education is complex by nature. It in- number of learners, complemented drills in the simula-
volves the study of intricate anatomical and physi- tion laboratory.
ological processes, which are difficult to represent
accurately with unidimensional presentations. In
such challenging domains, learners need cognitive
flexibility to apply diverse elements of knowledge
to specific situations or problems.
Multimedia technology allows medical educators
to convey complex information with greater precision
than traditional methods, and helps cultivate the flex-
ible clinical reasoning that clinicians need to provide
safe patient care.

THE ROLE OF DIGITAL MEDIA IN MEDICAL EDUCATION 45