No more back-breaking anatomy textbooks for medical students at Ohio State University: these would-be scrubs will have all the info they need thanks to iPods provided by the school.
The program, said to be the first of its kind in a medical school, will be rolled out over the next two years. It is the brainchild of third-year student Justin Harper who, presumably, was tired of lugging around textbooks and getting paper cuts.
The iPods are loaded with specific medical software programs planned by OSU. The hand-held technology will give students quick access to high-res images of each organ and nerve in the body, plus allow them access to videos of medical treatments or surgical procedures and lists of potential drug interactions.
In more traditional school fare, they’ll also be able to give themselves pop quizzes, review all lectures in podcast form and have the entire curricula at their fingertips.
“The iPod touch has the potential to positively impact both medical education and the care provided to patients at the bedside,” said Dr. Catherine Lucey, vice dean for education on the school website. “The personal digital assistant puts a wealth of information at the fingertips of our students. They can study when they want and where they want. If they are seeing a patient and a question arises, they can find the answer instantly, to share with them.”
Via AP
6 responses to “Med School Equips Students with iPod Touch”
now imagine taking it the next step. wifi up a whole hospital, especially the ER, blood bank, pharmacy, icu etc. give all the doctors and nurses a touch or other PDA device. use an interconnected system of drug lists, patient records etc. no more not being able to read handwriting and screwing up a dosage. you could have the system set up so that other drugs in the patients records, vital signs, weight, all the factors can be applied, drug orders can go straight to the pharmacy blah blah
Yeah, I just was talking about this with a good friend last weekend, who is at OSU medical school. He was looking forward to the new system. A good use of technology, I must say.
So what happens to the knowledge that they wouldve memorized by trying to avoid carrying textbooks with them? Surely it’s easier to memorize stuff than carry a reference around. Now that they have a reference around, what will happen when they lose it?