Systemic Progress in Teaching and Learning 2002 Award Winner

Wake Forest University School of Medicine

Prescription for Excellence Curriculum

Wake Forest University School of Medicine (WFUSM) has positioned itself as a leader in the integration of technology into undergraduate medical education with its Prescription for Excellence Curriculum. This ubiquitous computing initiative, seamlessly integrated into the school's educational goals, is predicated on a belief in the growing importance of information technology in medicine as well as curricular goals of self-directed, life-long learning and information management skills. Used even in beginning courses, it incorporates elements at all levels that encourage practicing physicians to take advantage of resources and techniques developed for the program.

Among the core elements of this initiative are:

• Laptop computers for all first-year students, to provide access to course materials, a medical dictionary, and productivity tools
• Personal digital assistants for all third-year students to use WFUSM's own PatientTrack application, which tracks clinical experiences and gives mobile access to medical utilities and reference materials, and to the drug database ePocrates
• Extended student orientation to provide training for critical applications and online materials
• Renovation of large classrooms and training rooms so they are conducive to learning in a ubiquitous computing environment
• A variety of custom resources to enhance the educational experience, such as animations providing visual explanation of cellular and sub-cellular concepts and online course materials (e.g., a Web-based Radiologic Anatomy program and an Atlas of Human Anatomy)

The popular program was instituted for first-year medical students in 1998, and the first participating class graduated last spring. By the second year 95 percent of the faculty were posting lecture materials, encouraged by student demand. Student surveys give high marks to the effectiveness of the custom tools, with 98 percent saying they would like to use similar applications later in their education.

The Prescription of Excellence program reflects comprehensive, thoughtful coordination among students, faculty, the Office of Academic Computing, and the Coy C. Carpenter Library at WFUSM. Their efforts provide an outstanding model of systemic, strategic, and effective integration of information technology resources into a medical curriculum.