Premium
Mobile Handheld Devices Applications to Teach Rational Prescribing and Safe Medication Practices
Author(s) -
Rajasekaran Senthil Kumar,
Smith Julia,
Engwall Keith
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.29.1_supplement.928.7
Subject(s) - session (web analytics) , medical education , medical prescription , medicine , mobile device , psychological intervention , quality (philosophy) , nursing , computer science , world wide web , philosophy , epistemology
With the growing emphasis on evidence‐based medicine, medical students face the challenge of assimilating a huge volume of new information during medical school. Among the most significant trends in medical education is the emergence of high quality medical applications for smart phones and tablets. As digital natives, millennial medical students respond well to this approach. First year medical students were chosen for this activity. We chose three apps (Micromedex, Epocrates and DynaMed) and for each app, the students were assigned questions related to a clinical case and a corresponding app to answer them. The tasks included a drug interaction check, adverse effect check, cost effective alternative check and patient advice and reference the levels of evidence (I, II and III). Also, students were directed to use the apps to perform similar tasks with the prescription drugs that their family or friends were taking. The students were asked to fill out an optional online pre‐ and post‐session survey rating their level of awareness and expertise in using these apps. Out of 75 students, 42 answered both surveys. Preliminary results indicate that self‐described ratings of application expertise rose substantially, as did their knowledge about critical clinical information relevant to prescribing practices. Students' knowledge of these applications also impacted their understanding of drug indications, efficacy, reactions, and interactions. Our results suggest that pedagogical interventions like these may hold potential to improve safe medication practices in clinical settings.