Hand Held Computing for Psychiatry Residents & Medical
Students
Medscape, Inc
Abstract
Residents in Psychiatry are required to keep a continuous log of
patient contacts as they progress through their four years of training. These logs are reviewed on a regular basis
by the Training Director to insure that the trainees have had a wide variety of
patient contacts. Traditionally, the
resident logs have been paper based or on cards. These are completed manually
and submitted on a regular basis to be reviewed. This is a awkward process for the trainee as well as a lengthy
review process for the Director of Training. Resident logs easily lend
themselves to computerization especially by using hand held computers.
In general, these logs are forms or cards that are supposed to be
completed each time a resident has a clinical encounter. Frequently, residents forget to complete
them, forget to bring them along or just don't have time to do them. Perhaps, if the process of data collection
were made easier and more interesting, it could produce faster results for both
the resident and the training director.
The data should be more accurate and allow for quicker feedback. This
type of data is easily captured by a hand held computer such as a 3COM Palm
Pilot.
There are a great deal of medical databases and programs available as shareware for the Palm Pilot over the Internet and residents are made aware of this and encouraged to explore and add useful programs to their PDA. The Palm Pilot also comes with an address / phone book, calculator and other useful programs.
The desktop computer in the Residency Training office is equipped
with a docking cradle that is used by the Palm Pilot to exchange data between
the PDA and the main training computer. Residents simply place their PDA into the cradle and their profile
is automatically loaded into the central computer. This is done on a regular
basis and the data is then easily converted into a standard database and
spreadsheet for the training director to review.
Adequate clinical exposure to all types and diagnoses of patients is an important training issue that needs to be frequently measured and monitored. Using a small hand held computer can facilitate this type of data collection.
Benefit in Attending
Session:
Attending this demo session will present the participant with ways to facilitate data collection that will lead to better clinical experiences in trainees. It will also show how trainee participation in the creation of the project encourages compliance and enhances the training experience.
PRIMARY AUTHOR'S
INFORMATION
Robert S. Kennedy, M.A
Medscape
134 West 29th Street
New York, New York 10001
Telephone Number: 212-760-3295
Fax Number: 212-760-3223
E-mail Address: robert_kennedy@mail.medscape.com
Web Site: http://www.psychiatry.medscape.com/