THE MEDICAL FIELD ranks among the top three industries that utilize educational technology in the training of its students and workers. The learning and teaching technologies employed are certainly not unique to medicine. Yet, the implementations are quite creative and some might even be saving lives.

UC San Diego is at the forefront of using Virtual Reality and 3D Modeling to teach Anatomy
Medical students have been taught human anatomy in the same way since ancient Greek times - by the dissection of cadavers. Although the use of cadavers is still important in a variety of settings, much of today's anatomy is taught by computer visualization.

Role playing by students Vanessa and Steve
Video has become an important tool for teaching interviewing techniques and can also provide critical feedback before med students experience their first patient contact. Watch the video on the left. What recommendations might you provide to our two med students if you were their mentor?

Computerized case management simulations take a lot of the fear and anxiety out of learning to formulate differential diagnoses and cost-effective diagnostic plans. Rogers called this "Freedom to Learn" where threat/intimidation is low and control is great (Rogers, 1994). Here is an excerpt from the excellent medical information site, MDChoice.com
Simulated cases help in learning clinical decision making 

Harvey: Click the stethoscope over the left sternal border to hear this murmur. Harvey is far more sophisticated than this simple flash demo can possibly show. Every medical school in the UK and many in the US have a Harvey cardiac simulator.
The murmur of mitral regurgitation can be subtle. It is often described as blowing or musical. The very best way to learn about heart murmurs is to listen to them over and over again. Where is a patient when you need one? Harvey, the cardiac simulator developed by Dr. Michael Gordon of the University of Miami is always at the ready.

Endoscopy AccuTouch® System (reproduced by permission of Immersion Corporation, copyright © 2004, Immersion Corporation. All rights reserved.)
"See one. Do One. Teach One". That was the mantra of medical educators who taught procedures that required manual dexterity skills. This was fine for everyone except perhaps for the unsuspecting patient. Immersion Medical has found a better way for students to practice the rather complex procedures of endoscopy. Their endoscopy system coordinates force feedback and simulated video that is remarkably realistic. Students can practice without supervision in order to hone their diagnostic and hands-on skills.

Howard Groveman, M.D., Educational Technologist
Groveman HD. (2004). Educational technology in medical education. In B. Hoffman (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Educational Technology.