Integrating Palm Devices into
the SOM Curriculum
lPlanning
•Explored ways devices could be used
•Identified a device and features wanted
―Tungsten C; wireless, lots of memory
•Established a timeline
―Start July 2003
•Selected software
―Kidometer, Red Book, PedsBase, etc.
•Outlined costs and potential funding sources
•Planned for faculty training
•
The first step in this process was to start planning. We had meetings starting in March of 2003.
We talked about ways the devices could potentially be used in the rotation; we needed to select a specific device. Nancy Lombardo, our Systems Librarian, did most of the initial investigation into the model. We selected the Tungsten C, with wireless capability and LOTS of memory. We established a timeline and agreed to start the course in the first week of July 2003.

As we talked about ways the devices could be used, we also identified appropriate software applications – a few of the more pediatric oriented programs were Kidometer, Red Book (related to pediatric infectious diseases and is considered their bible) and PedsBase, a resource of pediatric disease conditions.

We also needed to find funding for these $500 devices and some of the fee-based software.

And we needed to address faculty training.