Considerable factors of incorporating PDAs to medical education

Personal digital assistants (PDAs) have become a popular tool among physicians and medical trainees. PDAs are used for various purposes by healthcare professions and students. However most of these users are physicians, and the devices assist them in patient tracking, documentation, clinical decision making in order to decrease the number of adverse events and enhance their learning. PDAs seem to be a valuable tool in both the medical profession and education. However, the influence factors for incorporating PDAs into medical curriculum have yet to be evaluated and determined. Therefore there is a need to conduct this study for the incorporation of PDAs to medical education. Aim: The purpose of this study is to address potential factors which may impact the incorporation of PDAs to medical education, including data security and information privacy, interoperability, scalability and network connectivity, education and training, familiarity of using PDAs (technology comfort), electromagnetic interference, social acceptance, maintenance and support and other relevant aspects. Now, the evidence in the literature is much less definite as to whether such factors may affect the incorporation of PDAs to medical education. Methods: The qualitative in-depth interviews were used to explore the attitudes of participants regarding the incorporation of PDAs into medical curriculum. The semi-structured interview questions were formulated based on the two-phase literature reviews and scoping study. Results: Two major aspects for the incorporation of PDAs into the PBL-medical curriculum at the UOW were determined from the interviews, these being technical and practical aspects. Considerable factors in IT aspect are data security and information privacy, data transmission and network connectivity, maintenance and support and interoperability among different PDA platforms. The practical aspects comprise three major components, which may influence the incorporation of PDAs into medical curriculum, these being, education and training, electromagnetic interference and social acceptance, respectively. Conclusion: Factors to be considered before incorporating PDAs into medical education have been identified. What has yet to be determined is the strategy for incorporating of these devices into PBL-context, what necessary information for students should be carried on their PDAs, what information would be suitable for students in evidence-based medicine, how to ensure that incorporation of PDAs provides students and medical faculty effective learning given the attendant financial and resource implications.