An iGen approach to teaching medical students

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Digital Health
• Substance Abuse Research

Background:

• Increasing medical school enrollment strains existing educational resources.
• A need exists for scalable and effective supplemental educational tools.
• Substance abuse remains a critical area requiring robust medical training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To prototype and assess Internet-based supplemental education modules.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of standardized patients (SP) in substance abuse training.
• To address the resource imbalance caused by larger medical school class sizes.

Main Methods:

• Development of Internet-based learning modules on substance abuse.
• Implementation of standardized patient (SP) simulations for practical training.
• Pilot study to assess the effectiveness of the developed educational tools.

Main Results:

• The prototyped Internet modules and SP were assessed.
• A small pilot study provided initial evidence of effectiveness.
• Further investigation through a larger study is underway.

Conclusions:

• Internet-based modules and SPs show potential as solutions for medical education challenges.
• This approach can help mitigate resource limitations in medical schools.
• The findings support the integration of digital and simulation tools in medical curricula.