Optimizing personal digital assistant (PDA) content
for preclinical medical education
Brynn E. Mays, MSLS
Information Services Librarian
Brian Boston, MA
Academic Technology and Internet Development Coordinator
Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship
Jane L. Blumenthal, MSLS, AHIP
Assistant Dean, Knowledge Management
Taeyeol Park, Ph.D.
Curriculum Support Specialist
Georgetown University Medical Center
Purpose: Identify relevant content and resources to support preclinical medical education and prepare students for clinical use of personal digital assistants (PDAs).
Setting/Participants/Resources: Dahlgren Memorial Library, Georgetown University Medical Center. Through a Palm, Inc., Mobile Medicine grant, the library provided fifteen second-year medical students with their own Palm PDAs. Students used and evaluated a set of freely available applications, a locally developed clinical pearls database, and a custom library news channel. Support was provided through one-on-one consultations, access to a shared PDA workstation, and a Website. We collected feedback through periodic questionnaires and conducted a focus group at the end of the first phase of the project.
Results: Second-year students found the drug information resource ePocrates Rx to be the most useful of the selected resources. They reported using it during class for recall and clarification of lecture points, to translate brand names to generic names, and to study because it was faster than using a traditional drug reference book. Students recommended additional resources that they felt would be useful: medical dictionary, differential diagnosis, normal lab values, Merck Manual, Griffith’s 5-Minute Clinical Consult, and their class schedule. Students felt they were benefiting from this early opportunity to learn about and use a PDA. Most agreed that participating in this project increased their knowledge of PDA applications in preclinical education as well as in clinical settings. Most reported that using a PDA during the second year of medical school was valuable preparation for the clinical years.
Conclusion: PDAs can be used effectively in conjunction with preclinical education and help prepare students to meet the information demands of their clinical years. Based on the results of this study, the school of medicine has formed a committee to recommend whether or not students should be required to own a PDA, and, if so, at what point in their education the requirement should begin. The library will also address revising content for PDA Web browsers and expanding their online support site. Further study is needed to determine what combination of purchased, free, and in-house resources are the most useful yet affordable.
