How To Use Google Glasses in Healthcare Training To Broaden Your Scope

Posted on by

Google Glass has been receiving a lot of press recently, especially in the field of medicine. Before we delve into how to use google glasses in healthcare training, let’s start by looking more closely at the device.

how to use google glasses in healthcare training, technology and healthcare, google glass and healthcareAs the name suggests, Google Glass is worn similar to a pair of glasses, minus one component: the lens. Instead of the lenses found in a traditional pair of glasses, the unit consists of a wire frame with a small, square computer in the upper right hand corner. The right side of the wire frame, close to the ear, acts as a track pad that turns the device off and on.

Once activated, the user can view the computer screen in their peripheral vision. The screen can be used to scroll through information, like a mini computer, or can be used as a live video capture of whatever you are viewing.

Google Glass was created for the public masses with the idea that now you can literally be connected to the Internet in a hands-free way. If you are in Paris and want to know how to get to the Eiffel Tower, simply turn Google Glass on with a swipe of your finger, ask the computer to locate directions, and begin walking.
When it comes to healthcare training, Google Glass has found many uses. Since this is our main focus, let’s consider some test cases below:

1. Ohio State University is using Google Glass during surgery, allowing the surgeon to perform a live surgery for training future surgeons.

2. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is using the device to pull up medical records before a doctor enters the room. Rather than sift through a file, the doctors scroll through the records on glass.

3. Rhode Island Hospital in Providence has used Google Glass as an interdisciplinary approach to medicine in the Emergency Room. When patients come into the ER with needs that may require a specialist consult, the attending physician can call through Glass and provide a live video feed of the patient to whatever specialist is on call.

The list of Google Glass indications for healthcare training are endless. In addition to live education, it can allow doctors to review symptoms before recommending treatment plans. It can also allow more autonomy for medical students as a supervisor or specialist is just a video conference away.

Google Glass is simply one aspect of healthcare training. If you are interested in learning about the various types of medical training we provide, please contact us.

Applying Healthcare Instructional Design Strategies that Work

Posted on by

If you are responsible for the continuing education of medical professionals, the importance of Healthcare Instructional Design Strategies that Work is clear.  Healthcare workers are busy, and it is often difficult, if not impossible to get a group together during working hours.  How then, do you teach and document new skills, and provide meaningful continuing education?

healthcare instructional designThe answer is to use personalized educational programs, that have been designed just for your needs.  Avidity Medical Design can provide these programs.  If your staff is self directed, and motivated to learn, you can choose mobile programs.   These learning modules can be completed on the employee’s own time.  If your employees don’t want to take their work home with them, choose a traditional program.  This would be completed as a group learning experience. Another option is a combination approach, where part of the module is completed by the individual, and and then a review is done as a group.

Continuing education requirements vary state by state.  Customized course development assures that these requirements will be met.  Staff will stay up to date, and competent.  Nursing Continuing Education Requirement Chart, from the American Nurses Organization, shows the hours required by each state.  Even if your state does not require documented hours, the importance of maintaining competency cannot be stressed enough. Also, nurses are not the only staff that need continuing education. All staff have to remain up to date, and competent.

An article in Propublica.org documents the astounding statistics of errors in United States hospitals.  It is reported that up to 98,000 deaths a year are as result of error.  This number is just from hospitals.  Errors also occur at walk-in clinics, dialysis clinics, ambulatory surgical facilities, etc.  These errors were not intentional, but none the less, lives were lost.  This shows how absolutely necessary it is for healthcare workers to remain competent.

For more information on Healthcare Instructional Design, please Contact Us.

Hiring a Healthcare Course Writer vs. Creating Your Own Content

Posted on by

A common scenario in healthcare e-Learning goes something like this: A healthcare organization places a strong emphasis on education. For years they avidity medical design healthcare instructorhone their patient education programs, keep staff up to date with certifications, and develop some basic healthcare courses to provide additional training. They watch a live demo, are empowered by what they see, and they begin to move forward with curriculum development. This is where the problems start.

Becoming a healthcare course writer is not an easy task. Oftentimes people know what they want to say but have no idea how to say it. If they do manage to get the words on paper, they get lost in the world of learning management systems and authoring tools. They also discover that they must function as healthcare subject matter experts as well as healthcare course writers to ensure that the course is technically accurate. Before long, months go by and the project is scrapped.

This scenario underscores the importance of hiring an experienced healthcare instructional designer. Ideas for healthcare education often land in the virtual trash can before they ever reach the storyboard stage of development. This happens because the possibility of outsourcing course development was never considered. A talented healthcare course writer can collaborate on ideas and cultivate those that already exist in order to create a comprehensive course that is technically accurate and gets the job done.

Avidity Medical Design expands healthcare training to reach a broader base of clients. Whether you need help preparing staff for the transition to ICD-10 medical coding, or you need to train nurses on the fundamentals of patient assessments, you can have a visually pleasing course created and uploaded to your learning management system.

If you need help developing an in-depth course that accurately meets the learning objectives for your particular healthcare specialty, contact us. We will work with you to achieve your goals for curriculum development.

Smartphones, Tablets, iPODs and iPADs: What Do They Mean for the Healthcare Classroom? Let’s Take a Look.

Posted on by

More and more students are discovering the benefits of taking college courses online using smartphones, tablets, iPODs and iPADs. Students can review lecture material, study for finals, and take exams at home or while sitting in a café or a restaurant, for example. Although many people have taken advantage of mobile technology for general education purposes, healthcare practitioners may wonder what smartphones, tablets, iPODs and iPADs have in store for the future of healthcare education.

smartphones, tablets ipods ipads avidity medical designAccording to an article found here, “44% of medical students are digital omnivores, using a smartphone, tablet, and computer routinely in an academic or professional capacity.” This has increased over the years ever since these options were made available to students.

Mobile devices are a great way for students to learn on the go, as well as in the traditional classroom. As stated in another blog, titled, Benefits of Mobile Devices in the Classroom, “The mobile approach can encourage student engagement with the content. For example, students can answer polls, tweet questions, and look up information during lectures.” The same is true for students in the healthcare arena, who are studying to become medical transcriptionists, medical coders, and registered nurses, for example. Using mobile devices, a student who is studying to become a medical transcriptionist can respond to polls about transcribing medications in discharge summaries, history and physicals, and emergency room records. A future medical coder can tweet questions about how to assign the correct ICD-10-CM code for a postsurgical mechanical device complication, or how to assign the correct CPT codes for injections, infusions, and critical care. A nursing student can research lecture material on patient case management, sterile gloving, and right and left heart catheterization. Using smartphones, tablets, iPODs, and iPADs each of these students can enrich their learning experience both in and out of the healthcare classroom.

Avidity Medical Design can help you develop healthcare courses that support and encourage medical mobile learning. We develop healthcare curriculum designed to help your students immediately transfer what they learn in the classroom to the doctor’s office, clinic, or hospital setting. We specialize in both e-Learning and blended learning for both the educational and corporate sectors.

Sheila D. McCray, MS, CCS, CCS-P, the principal of Avidity Medical Design, has an M.S. in Instructional and Performance Technology and holds certifications in Captivate, Dreamweaver, Sharepoint, MS Office, and multiple healthcare-related areas. She is also a certified online instructor, medical coder, medical biller, and medical transcriptionist with an extensive background in healthcare information management. She designs curriculum for all areas of healthcare, as well as general education curriculum for K-12 students.

Feel free to contact us for more information on how we can incorporate innovative mobile learning strategies into your healthcare classroom.

Hire a Healthcare Instructional Designer for Continuing Education

Posted on by

Finding the time to work on continuing education courses can be difficult within the confines of a medical office or hospital. However, developing the right healthcare courses does not have to be difficult. Working with Avidity Medical Design to create healthcare courses simplifies curriculum development, making it easier for all healthcare professionals to get the training they need.

healthcare instructional designers, healthcare instruction, healthcare certification coursesMany healthcare professionals need continuing education credits to maintain their certification or licensure. This means that healthcare courses need to include the most up-to-date information on changes in processes and procedures for specific healthcare specialties. Medical coders, for example, need to know how to accurately assign diagnosis codes in ICD-10 by October 1, 2014.

We can design continuing education courses for the traditional classroom, the online environment, or both. All training is Just-In-Time (JIT) training, meaning that healthcare professionals are given the essential information they need to get up to speed quickly, while minimizing disruption to their workday. With JIT, everyone gets the training they need to complete certification requirements and to immediately apply what they learn in the clinic, ER, ambulatory surgery center, ICU, or billing department, for example.

Contact us to learn how we can help your staff prepare for certification, maintain their current certification, or expand their skill set.

Avidity Medical Design can prepare your staff for upcoming certification exams or licensure renewal by combining a variety of instructional design methodologies to suit your needs.  With a healthcare instructional designer, every medical office can receive the highest level of training and improve patient care.

Bringing the Online Classroom to Life

Posted on by

The educational system in the United States is changing at all levels, especially at the secondary and post-secondary levels. Some of the changes are due to budget cuts that have hit the educational system especially hard over the past several years.

The U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan stated on April 17, 2013:

Education is more than a set of numbers on the ledger line. Education is not just an expense–it is an investment. In fact, it is one of the most critical investments in the future that we, as a Nation, can make. America cannot win the race for the future without investing in education–it is that simple.

Avidity medical design instructional designerA gifted instructional designer needs to use the right software to develop effective curriculum regardless of budget cuts that may change the shape of the educational landscape. Furthermore, the curriculum must allow students to immediately transfer what they learn in the classroom to the real world environment. Avidity Medical Design uses Adobe Captivate, Lectora, Camtasia, and other e-Learning platforms to develop curriculum that allows learners to immediately use what they learn.

Today’s students have many opportunities for social interaction – opportunities that did not exist 20 or 30 years ago. For these students, online learning is simply an extension of their online social interactions through Facebook, Twitter, and other social media networks. Just as conversations come alive on Facebook, for example, student learning should come alive in the online classroom. Creative instructional design combines elements of various instructional design models to create a vibrant learning experience that engages students on a variety of different levels and in a variety of different subjects.

Contact us to learn more about how we can bring your curriculum to life, stimulate your learners, and motivate them to learn more about the subjects that you are teaching.