ABSTRACT
Interdisciplinary care is a method of providing patient care through a team approach that incorporates the efforts of various health care providers. Studies show that this approach can improve patient care and decrease overall costs to the healthcare system. Despite the evidence for the benefits of interdisciplinary care, there are no well-defined models for training students during their didactic years to become members of an interdisciplinary team. This study utilized an investigator-developed questionnaire to determine the attitudes of administrators of professional schools in the USA toward interdisciplinary education, identified the perceived barriers to interdisciplinary education, examined the extent to which interdisciplinary education is occurring at academic health center campuses, and identified the courses that might best be taught in an interdisciplinary format. Administrators from medicine, nursing, and pharmacy hold positive attitudes toward interdisciplinary instruction. Respondents from nursing and pharmacy hold more favorable attitudes than their counterparts from medicine. Positive attitudes are seen more frequently among females than males, and among respondents from public single and multi-campuses than from private campuses. This study demonstrated that administrators espouse very positive attitudes toward interdisciplinary education, although they perceive the barriers to interdisciplinary education and the courses most suited for an interdisciplinary approach differently. More discussions among administrators of various disciplines may allow barriers to be overcome and allow development of interdisciplinary didactic courses that could test the hypothesis that these courses are more cost effective and more likely to foster interdisciplinary teamwork in the clinical setting.
Subject(s)
Academic Medical Centers/organization & administration , Administrative Personnel/psychology , Attitude of Health Personnel , Education, Medical, Undergraduate/organization & administration , Patient Care Team , Administrative Personnel/statistics & numerical data , Curriculum , Female , Humans , Male , Models, Educational , Surveys and Questionnaires , United StatesABSTRACT
The California Consortium for Informatics in Medical Education and Development began in 1990 upon the recommendation of the academic deans of eight California medical schools. It provides one model of how consortia can promote the development, evaluation, dissemination, and utilization of technology-based medical education.
Subject(s)
Education, Medical , Medical Informatics , California , Computer-Assisted Instruction , Medical Informatics/education , Program DevelopmentABSTRACT
A systematic multifaceted approach is effective in integrating computer-based learning in a medical school environment. The need to educate medical students in computer use, the growing economic constraints facing many medical schools, and the permeation of computer technology in the medical profession encourage collaboration across academic disciplines and services to meet well identified instructional needs through computer-based learning.
Subject(s)
Computer User Training/methods , Computer-Assisted Instruction/methods , Education, Medical, Undergraduate/methods , Libraries, Medical/organization & administration , Attitude , Computer User Training/statistics & numerical data , Computer User Training/trends , Computer-Assisted Instruction/statistics & numerical data , Computer-Assisted Instruction/trends , Curriculum , Data Collection , Education, Medical, Undergraduate/trends , Humans , Microcomputers , Patient Care Team , Students, Medical/psychologyABSTRACT
Mercer University School of Medicine was established in response to the shortage of primary care physicians in medically underserved Georgia. Originally patterned after the McMaster model of medical education, Mercer found it necessary to modify the three academic programs of the first 2 years of a 4-year undergraduate medical education curriculum. Since accepting students in 1982, though, it has retained many of the essential qualities of problem-based learning and those educational experiences that prepare community responsive physicians to practice in medically underserved areas.
Subject(s)
Curriculum , Medically Underserved Area , Physicians, Family/education , Schools, Medical/standards , Georgia , Humans , Physicians, Family/supply & distributionABSTRACT
An experimental group of 38 patients on chronic hemodialysis were presented a 30-min, self-instructional, color videotape on progressive relaxation (PR) exercises; and a control group of 23 patients viewed a neutral videotape. Both groups were given the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory while on the dialysis machine, before and after the actual viewing. The experimental group significantly reduced its state anxiety level while the control group remained the same. Patients who reported higher levels of state anxiety and experienced tension more frequently tended to achieve the greater benefit from the program. It is postulated that PR can be a useful resource to overcome the sometimes severe anxiety related to the stresses of chronic hemodialysis.
