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Biomedical subjects

G Michael Harper

Publications and source records attributed to G Michael Harper.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

The reading habits of medicine clerks at one medical school: frequency, usefulness, and difficulties.

PURPOSE: To describe the reading habits of medicine clerks, which previously have not been well described. Understanding issues related to student reading habits may provide insights and opportunities for medical educators to develop methods to improve clerks' clinical clerkship experiences and their information literacy skills. METHOD: The authors administered an 18-item survey tool to 120 students on their first inpatient internal medicine clerkships at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 2002-03. The questionnaire focused on issues related to what and how often they read during their basic medicine clerkship. Data were explored mainly with descriptive statistics. RESULTS: One hundred twelve of 120 (93%) medicine clerks completed the survey. Clerks reported reading for an average of 10.8 (SD 5.6) hours per week (median ten hours per week, range one to 30 hours per week). The most commonly used and useful reading sources were UpToDate and test preparation textbooks. Approximately 30% of students reported substantial problems in reading about their patients. Limited data suggest that reading habits and learning methods vary by year of medical school. Clerks are given disparate advice on appropriate reading sources to consult by attending physicians, resident physicians, and fellow students. CONCLUSIONS: Students spend significant amounts of time reading online sources during their medicine clerkship, especially UpToDate. Medical educators should become familiar with these sources and contribute to maximizing their effectiveness for students. Additional research focused on understanding how students build skills in information literacy and how educational programs can facilitate the development of those skills is needed.

Baltimore↗
PubMed2005

The effect of computerized provider order entry on medical student clerkship experiences.

OBJECTIVE: To describe medical students' attitudes toward placing orders during training, and the effect of computerized provider order entry (CPOE) on their learning experiences. DESIGN: Prospective, controlled study of all 143 Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine students who began the Basic Medicine clerkship between March 2003 and April 2004 at one of three teaching hospitals: one using CPOE, one paper orders, and one that began using CPOE midway through this study. MEASUREMENTS: Survey of students at the start and after the first month of the clerkship. RESULTS: Ninety-six percent of students responded. Students expressed a desire to place 100% of orders for their patients. Ninety-five percent of students believed that placing orders helps students learn what tests and treatments patients need. Eighty-four percent reported that being unavailable due to conferences and teaching sessions was a significant barrier to participating in the ordering process. Students at hospitals using CPOE reported placing significantly fewer of their patients' follow-up orders compared to students at hospitals using paper orders (25% vs. 50%, p < 0.01) and were more likely to report that their resident or intern did not want them to enter orders (40% vs. 16%, p < 0.01). Comparisons of students at hospitals using CPOE to each other showed that these differences were attributable to one of the hospitals. Thirty-two percent of students at both hospitals using CPOE reported that the extra length of time required for housestaff to review their orders in the computer was a significant barrier. CONCLUSION: Hospitals need to ensure that the educational potential of medical students' clinical experiences is maximized when implementing CPOE.

Attitude to Computers↗