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AIM: E-learning technologies are becoming vital components of medical and health professions education, as highlighted during the current coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) considers education technologies essential to forming connections between education and healthcare delivery systems, which promote evidence-based practice and continuous learning and quality improvement in healthcare. There is a lack of evidence-based models to guide the integration of technology in medical and health profession education, in particular models that form synergistic linkages between healthcare education and delivery systems. This paper presents the evaluation of an innovative blended learning model, which leverages virtual technology to connect students in the classroom with clinicians in community clinics (C4Tech) for authentic learning related to quality improvement (QI) and social determinants of health (SDH). METHOD: This study applied a case study approach to evaluate the efficacy of the C4Tech model in supporting learning outcomes and assessed how virtual collaboration influenced the process of learning. RESULTS: This study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of how to design effective blended courses that connect the healthcare education and delivery systems through virtual technology. It also demonstrates how to connect students and practicing clinicians virtually to design evidence-based quality improvement projects.

For disciplines heavily reliant upon traditional classroom teaching, such as medicine and health sciences, incorporating new learning models may pose challenges for students and faculty. In an effort to innovate curricula, better align courses to required student learning outcomes, and address the call to redesign health professions education, Health Sciences Programs at The George Washington University (GW) embarked on two faculty development initiatives to encourage adoption of online, blended, and technology-enhanced courses. This article describes the Review, Refresh, Revise (R3) program, which relies on the evidenced-based Quality Matters Higher Education rubric, and resources from the Supported Media for Administration and Teaching (SMART) Lab to develop and promote a pedagogical approach to course redesign. It also presents preliminary data evaluating the programs in terms of faculty satisfaction, student satisfaction, learning outcomes, and learner engagement. Data analysis indicates faculty satisfaction with the R3 program and SMART Lab resources, despite faculty concerns regarding the time commitment of R3. It also indicated that both initiatives improved course quality, learning outcomes, and learner engagement. Analysis indicates student satisfaction with course revisions in online and technology-enhanced courses, although student satisfaction in the first fully blended course varied, particularly with regard to whether students found the use of technology engaging or essential to learning. Further research is required to understand student responses to blended learning in health sciences.

Currently, there is a strong push in the US health system to increase the use of electronic medical records (EMR) in the delivery of health care.1 EMRs serve as a mechanism to document, communicate, and integrate patient information to promote effective decision-making and quality health care. Use of EMRs is expected to decrease health care costs, while improving efficiency, safety, and patient outcomes.2 However, EMRs in and of themselves will not meet this intended benefit if end users are not sufficiently trained to use this technology. The lack of ade quate knowledge and skills by health care providers to use EMR systems has been cited as a consistent barrier to the broad adoption of EMRs in the United States.3 The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommended that all health professional training programs incorporate health information technology and informatics into their training cur ricula.4 Physician assistant (PA) and medical education training include system-based practices and practice-based learning improvements as core professional competency requirements.5,6 However, many schools have not formally incorporated EMRs into their curricula7 as a mechanism to help learners improve their patient care practices. Due to incentives in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009,8 EMRs will most likely increasingly be used to document the patient’s encounter, and PAs will be expected to use this technology to manage their patients’ health. In order to equip future PAs with the requisite skills to use EMRs to their full potential, PA educators should consider integrating these systems into their current curricula. This paper provides a brief description of EMRs and a literature review on their use in health professional training curricula, and proposes a framework for implementing this technology into the PA educational curriculum.

Changes in the US Healthcare System along with the need for institutions of higher education to prepare a work force ready to address the challenges of today and tomorrow have highlighted the need to incorporate technology in its broadest sense as part of the student learning experience. In health professional education, this becomes challenging as programs have traditionally relied on face-to-face instruction along with internship experiences which provide hands on patient care. In addition, learning activities that incorporate higher order critical thinking must be incorporated in order to meet competency based professional expectations as well as expectations in the work place environment. This article will address current technology use in health professional education programs and identify opportunities to incorporate technology to enhance the student learning experiences with emphasis on the critical thinking, communication, and psychomotor skills required of today’s health professional graduate.