Presenting findings of a survey of Medical Librarians in the US, UK and Ireland on the use and provision of mobile technologies within Medical Schools and Teaching Hospitals and reviewing the literature to establish best practice.

1. The Challenges of Mobile/Tablet/eBook Provision in UL
Striving for Best Practice
Donna Ó Doibhlin, Librarian - Education & Health Sciences
Tracey McKillen, Systems Innovation & Development - Educational Technology
15th
Educational Technology Conference, University of Limerick, 28th
of May, 2015

2. Donna Ó Doibhlin, Librarian - Education & Health Sciences
Surveyed Medical Librarians in the US, UK and Ireland on the use and provision of
mobile technologies within Medical Schools and Teaching Hospitals.
Tracey McKillen, Systems Innovation & Development - Educational Technology
Earlier this year carried out an evaluation of tablet devices for the Graduate Entry
Medical School, University of Limerick.
Both decided to combine our research as we felt the area of Mobile/Tablet/eBook
provision is becoming increasingly important to the Graduate Entry Medical School
(GEMS) curriculum and the services provided by the Glucksman Library at the
University of Limerick (UL).
Background

3. Plan for today
• Background
• Structure of GEMS programme
• Available resources
• Environmental Scan – Survey of UK &US medical libraries
• Mobile technology provision – UK, US, Ireland
• Evaluation of tablet devices
• Survey of GEMS student preferences
• Barriers to use of mobile technologies
• Benefits of mobile technologies
• Considerations for best practice
• References

4. The BM BS Graduate Entry Medical Programme (GEMP) is a four-year medical
degree open to graduates from any discipline.
It has a highly innovative curriculum that aims to produce doctors who are well
equipped to meet the existing and emerging needs of Irish society.
Years 1 and 2 of the curriculum are structured around Problem-Based Learning
(PBL), backed up by a small number of lectures, structured clinical and anatomical
skills classes in addition to tutorials and seminars in professional competencies.
Structure of the GEMS Programme

5. PBL - groups of about 8 students – given highly structured hypothetical critical cases
to work through in about a week
By working though the problem and hypothesising about what is wrong with the
patient, the PBL group comes up with a list of learning issues that represent the key
knowledge needed to understand what is happening to the patient.
The group members then independently research these learning issues in their own
time. During this independent learning, students are encouraged to visit and make
use of facilities of the Anatomical Skills Education unit, Clinical skills education unit
and the resources of the Glucksman Library.
Structure of the GEMS Programme (Con’t)

6. Years 3 and 4
•Clinical training based off campus – in hospital sites and GP surgeries.
•Students must engage in their own learning and investigate issues at the
bedside/in the clinics themselves utilising the electronic resources of the University
of Limerick and those of the HSE to answer these queries/provide evidence to
support their diagnoses.
Structure of the GEMS Programme (Con’t)

7. Databases/Ebooks/Classroom Technology:
•Martindale's complete drug reference manual/British National formulary
•SULIS
•Ebooks
•Up-to-date - an evidence-based clinical decision support resource
•PubMed and Multiple Databases
•Anatomy TV – virtual body
A range of information resources

8. Survey of laptop/IPad/tablet/Ebook provision in
UK and US medical libraries and colleges

9. • Undergraduate medical students are provided with iPads.
• iPads are given to 5th and 6th year medical students by Faculty.
• Some courses are provided with tablets on entry at no cost to students.
• Laptops/netbooks /ipads are available in the Library.
• Students are provided with laptop by the university.
• No, but they should be. They should also be given to librarians, so we can train on
the spot, and do rounds.
• Medical students get laptops, not iPads. No other students are given devices as
part of their program.
Some further comments from participants in the survey:

12. Laptop/tablet/ipad lending practices

13. A recent survey of Irish medical school libraries found:

14. Do Irish medical school libraries lend mobile technologies?

15. All 15 Irish survey respondents provide pcs for student use

16. • February and March 2015 - how GEMS students access online resources using
tablet devices.
• Technical considerations incorporated to provide a best fit recommendation.
Requirements from GEMS
• Must display all GEMS online course materials.
• A student purchase, no pre-loading of software by GEMS tech support.
• Device should be as maintenance free as possible.
• Access teaching resources using the tablet device – instead of paper handouts.
• Access GEMS resources, the Internet and note taking on clinical placement.
Evaluation of Tablet Devices, GEMS, UL

17. Survey of GEMS Students – Preferences

18. Survey of GEMS Students – Preferred resources

19. Survey of GEMS Students – Preferred resources
86.9% of respondents access Sulis (GEMS Learning Management System)

20. 87% of students use mobile devices to access online
medical resources while on placement
86.9% of respondents access Sulis (GEMS Learning Management System)

21. Preferred mobile/tablet devices
86.9% of respondents access Sulis (GEMS Learning Management System)

22. • Wireless access in the hospital or clinic,
• Knowing what resources are available and understanding how to use the
resources,
• Technology problems - complicated installation process, do not have permission
to install software (e.g. corporate Blackberry),
• Lack of time – authentication issues
• Hands-on workshops on how to use mobile devices,
• Hands-on workshops on how to use medical resources on mobile devices,
• Drop-in troubleshooting assistance,
• Online how-to guides specific to your institution. ⁴
• Many of the medical students do not perceive tablets as suitable devices for
writing, levels of digital literacy.³
Barriers to Use of Mobile Technologies

23. • Mobility on the wards, quick access to information.
• Clinical calculations, drug information and note taking – popular across all studies.
• Access to medical calculators, texts, journals, patient education materials, and
patient information systems.
• High usage of PubMed and other web-based clinical resources.¹
• Having an efficient search function,
• Offline access to information through an app,
• Usable, mobile-enabled interface.²
Benefits of Mobile Technologies

24. • Streamlining the authentication process to access library licensed resources.
• Wireless connectivity both on and off campus.
• Training and support – both the mobile device and library resources.
• Apps pre loaded – not reliant on wireless
• Different learners use their mobile devices differently ⁵
• Learners’ use of mobile devices depended on their devices affordances ⁵
• Learners’ use of mobile devices aligns to context ⁵
• Mobile devices used to augment but not to replace laptops ⁵
• Learners only use some features of their mobile devices ⁵
Considerations for Best Practice

25. 1. Perez, B. A., von Isenburg, M. A., Yu, M., Tuttle, B. D., & Adams, M. B. (2013).
Exploring the impact of tablet computers on medical training at an academic
medical center. Journal of the Medical Library Association: JMLA, 101(2), 154.
2. Stephens, M. B., Waechter, D., Williams, P. M., Williams, A. L., Yew, K. S., & Strayer,
S. M. (2010). Institutional support for handheld computing: clinical and educational
lessons learned. Medical reference services quarterly, 29(1), 28-36.
3. Curtis, F., & Cranmer, S. (2014). “Laptops are better”: Medical students' perceptions
of laptops versus tablets and smartphones to support their learning.
4. Boruff, J. T., & Storie, D. (2014). Mobile devices in medicine: A survey of how
medical students, residents, and faculty use smartphones and other mobile devices
to find information. Journal of the Medical Library Association: JMLA, 102(1), 22.
5. Sreedharan, J., Premadasa, G., Muttappallymyalil, J., & Sharma, P. (2014). Left to
their own devices: Medical learners' use of mobile technologies. Medical teacher,
36(8), 737-738.
References