Integration of hospital systems into medical education: A blended learning approach

The E-learning tools facilitate and extend students learning experiences beyond the boundaries of the classroom. These tools and applications include activities to increase the interaction among students themselves and between instructors and students on the other side. Medical education requires more practical sessions, and student involvement in medical procedures at various levels. E-learning design and implementation for medical education should be tailored to satisfy such needs. For a productive and interactive learning environment, e-learning tools in addition to access to text books, online updated information and lectures materials, should be able to provide students with access to real cases including medical history, lab results, radiology images, and other patient related information. Such resources and tools would improve the student diagnostic and intervention skills and critical appraisal skills, influence their learning outcomes, and improve students’ learning capabilities as well as their accessibility. The current study discusses the approach designed in the College of Medicine and King Saud University Hospitals to build and integrate the medical e-learning system with the main hospital information systems such as hospital information system, picture archiving and communication system, lab system, and operation rooms system to provide medical students with access to hospital information and resources required to pursued their medical studies and to support the blended learning approach. This study was conducted in years 2009-2010 as part of the College of Medicine efforts to integrate e-learning solutions into medical education. The design discussed in the current study considered major challenges of medical education and the e-learning settings requirements and proposed strategies and techniques to satisfy these requirements and overcome challenges. It proposed a solution to the integration concern as well by employing a medical portal to work as an interface layer between the e-learning system and medical systems. This layer should greatly simplifies the integration, and improves the efficiency of the e learning system. This approach is also useful in securing patient information privacy against unauthorized access and at the same time providing students with required access to analyse, and diagnose educational cases. In conclusion, for medical education, e-learning systems should be designed to overcome limitations such as privacy, space and integration, and to simplify hospital information accessibility furthermore to help in overcoming other medical education challenges and provides an effective approach to integrating technology into pre-clinical and clinical medical education. In addition e learning systems should advance student engagement in medical procedures and operations, and access to real and life cases with exceptional care in handling the privacy and security of patient data.