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Recording medical students' encounters with standardized patients using Google Glass: providing end-of-life clinical
Jeffrey Tully1, Christian Dameff, Susan Kaib
1Dr. Tully is a first-year resident training in pediatrics, Phoenix Children's Hospital, Phoenix, Arizona. Dr. Dameff is a first-year resident training in emergency medicine, Maricopa Medical Center, Phoenix, Arizona. Dr. Kaib is assistant director, Doctoring Curriculum, Department of Academic Affairs, University of Arizona, College of Medicine: Phoenix, Phoenix, Arizona. Dr. Moffitt is director, Doctoring Curriculum, Department of Academic Affairs, University of Arizona, College of Medicine: Phoenix, Phoenix, Arizona.
Problem:
Medical education today frequently includes standardized patient (SP) encounters to teach history-taking, physical exam, and communication skills. However, traditional wall-mounted cameras, used to record video for faculty and student feedback and evaluation, provide a limited view of key nonverbal communication behaviors during clinical encounters.
Approach:
In 2013, 30 second-year medical students participated in an end-of-life module that included SP encounters in which the SPs used Google Glass to record their first-person perspective. Students reviewed the Google Glass video and traditional videos and then completed a postencounter, self-evaluation survey and a follow-up survey about the experience.
Outcomes:
Google Glass was used successfully to record 30 student/SP encounters. One temporary Google Glass hardware failure was observed. Of the 30 students, 7 (23%) reported a "positive, nondistracting experience"; 11 (37%) a "positive, initially distracting experience"; 5 (17%) a "neutral experience"; and 3 (10%) a "negative experience." Four students (13%) opted to withhold judgment until they reviewed the videos but reported Google Glass as "distracting." According to follow-up survey responses, 16 students (of 23; 70%) found Google Glass "worth including in the [clinical skills program]," whereas 7 (30%) did not.
Next Steps:
Google Glass can be used to video record students during SP encounters and provides a novel perspective for the analysis and evaluation of their interpersonal communication skills and nonverbal behaviors. Next steps include a larger, more rigorous comparison of Google Glass versus traditional videos and expanded use of this technology in other aspects of the clinical skills training program.
