Arthritis charity funds Glasgow University's multi-media package
for medical students
MEDICAL students around the world will soon be able to learn all about bone and joint diseases - not from talking to patients in the flesh - but on a computer screen, thanks to work being done at the University of Glasgow.
The students can select one of six case studies contained on a CD-ROM, switch on their computer, and be faced with a patient on video.
Then - using a unique question-and-recognition system devised by staff at the university's education department and the Centre for Rheumatic Diseases - the student can type in questions and the patient will respond verbally on screen, enabling the student to make a diagnosis, and suggest treatment. They will then be assessed, and a score given to each student.
The interactive video package, put together in collaboration with the King's Mill Centre in Sutton-In-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, has been made possible by a two-year grant of £82,159 from leading medical research charity the Arthritis Research Campaign.
"Undergraduate teaching in medical schools is changing," explained Dr David Hamilton, from the education department. "There is a move away from the traditional subject-centred curriculum to a problem-based, student-centred approach.
"The reason for this change is that we know that skills acquired in real-life practice situations are learned more quickly and efficiently than in a lecture setting, and with the arrival of PCs and the recent development of multimedia computer assisted instruction, it is possible to simulate the clinical situation very closely."
The interactive package is meant to complement formal teaching and clinical experience, and will also give students examples of important and unusual medical conditions which they might not otherwise come across.
Once the project has been completed, the CD-ROM will be made available to all medical schools for use by undergraduates. There will also be a text-only version of the six case studies for the Internet, which will form part of the ARC's website, available to medical students and clinicians throughout the world.
