Medical Education (MEDED) App Reviews

The convergence of medicine and technology is a major topic of discussion in healthcare. The role technology plays in how we practice medicine continues to expand every day in innumerable ways. Besides the actual “practice” of medicine, technology is playing a vital role in how we educate our future doctors. As a technology enthusiast and an internist involved in resident and student education, I see tremendous opportunity to improve the medical education (MEDED) experience utilizing technology. Specifically, mobile applications or “APPS” have a great potential to deliver point of care education in a convenient, efficient and fun way.

                Currently, there are thousands apps out there that can be utilized in MEDED. I’d like to begin a new series of blog posts that reviews some of the apps I'm using. Hopefully other medical educators out there looking for apps will find this information helpful. 

Each month Ill review an app by breaking it down into the following categories.

1: Appearance

                An app has to look nice, clean and professional to have maximum impact. 

                Max Score 10. Weight 1.0

2: Ease of Use

                An app for a busy physician and or trainee needs to be easy to use without a steep learning curve,

               Max Score 10 Weight 2.0

3:  Educational Depth

                The depth and quality of information can vary greatly between apps. Since these apps are geared towards medical education, this category is weighted more.  

                Max Score 10 Weight 3.0

4: Clinical Impact

                This category reflects the app’s ability to translate into effective and meaning clinical decisions. 

                Max Score 10 Weight 3.0

5:  Fun Factor

                An app that is fun to use always gets my attention and has staying power.

                Max Score 10 Weight 1.0
6: X-Factor
                 If there's anything about the APP that can't be fit in the above categories, that deserves mentioning.

The maximum score an app can get is 100.

If anyone has suggestions on other categories or things I should consider, please let me know! Feedback is always appreciated!

If there are apps you'd like me to review, I'd be happy to take a look.
Currently I'm working on writing up my first review.