Emergency Medicine articles covering diagnosis, lab studies, imaging, procedures, prehospital care, emergency department care, prognosis, follow-up.
Work in progress: Advising/teaching using videoconferencing technology
It is not every day when I get to give my "Tricks of the Trade in Emergency Medicine" talk in a new environment. I've given lectures in super-small groups (5-10 people), workshop settings (25-50 people), and large groups (>100 people). I given it in a variety of places ranging from Boston to Barbados.
Yesterday, I gave a 30-minute virtual talk on this topic to the Emergency Medicine Interest Group at Loma Linda School of Medicine. I gave the talk from home on my couch! The audience comprised of preclinical and clinical medical students, who are all interested in EM as a career choice.
Logistically, how did we coordinate this?
With the help of Chad Van Ginkel, a tech-saavy third-year medical student at Loma Linda, we were able to pull this off. Using iChat on the computers at both ends, I was able to "share my desktop" with the audience. Whatever was on my desktop could be viewed by the students. This allowed me to run through my Powerpoint slides. Additionally, I opened the PhotoBooth application to allow me the audience to see me talking in real-time with my slides.
Afterward the talk, we de-activated the desktop sharing and held a Question&Answer session using the videoconferencing feature of iChat. I could see the audience, and the audience could see me. I fielded questions about EM, applicant competitiveness, and common (and uncommon) interview questions.
My thoughts on videoconferencing
Based on this pilot project, I think this is a great tool to help faculty, who are interested in advising, to reach out to medical students outside of their home site and vice versa. I was able to chat with medical students and (in a small way) help guide them during their exciting journey into residency and beyond. This is a valuable, novel option for "virtual advising" in the future. If you belong to an EM Interest Group, I'd be happy to virtually visit with you as well!
Question: Has anyone used videoconferencing for medical purposes yet?