Doctors in Southampton plug the learning gap for medical students
DOCTORS in Southampton are to produce a state-of-the art teaching tool for medical students – to help them learn about arthritis on the world-wide web.
A team at Southampton University Hospitals' NHS Trust, led by Dr Ray Armstrong, have been awarded a grant of £92,077 by medical research charity the Arthritis Research Campaign to help them undertake the two-year project.
The interactive teaching package will primarily be aimed at medical students, but could also be of use to doctors and paramedics in the UK and beyond.
Dr Armstrong, who produced a similar interactive multimedia CR ROM on rheumatology which proved very successful, said he hoped the new package would help fill the gaps in medical students' knowledge of rheumatology
"It's long been recognised that the majority of medical schools in the UK provide less rheumatology teaching than would appear necessary - as judged by the frequency of the number of patients who attend doctors' surgeries with rheumatic problems," explained Dr Armstrong, a consultant rheumatologist.
"For instance, in Southampton, apart from some sessions early in the course and in the final year, the main part of rheumatology teaching takes part in the third year, when just four afternoons are devoted to the subject. In many universities a deteriorating staff/student ratio may make matters worse. With some exceptions, there is therefore relatively little time to impart the knowledge and skills required to practise rheumatology at even a fairly basic level."
Dr Armstrong's collaborators on the project will Wendy Hall, Professor of Computer Science, and Pat Maier, educational developer in the Interactive Learning Centre. The project will include a video with a professional actor and volunteer patients to illustrate physical examination and to simulate clinical situations in an interactive fashion. It will then be located on a website, with some of the content distributed on a CD ROM.
However, Dr Armstrong said that although there were great benefits from computer-assisted learning, there could be no substitute for hands-on experience in interacting with patients, and the Internet package would complement existing medical education methods rather than replace them.
"We believe this package will heighten awareness of rheumatic disease, and will enhance the reputation of the UK as a site of innovation and high quality research in medical education," he added.
