Learning at Hand? Findings from the AAMC Survey on Tablet Device Adoption

Abstract

In the past several years, several medical schools have launched major initiatives to deploy tablet computer devices (e.g., iPad and similar) in support of undergraduate medical student education. Building on reports of experiences from individual institutions, a survey was conducted to determine the current status and widespread trends in tablet adoption in undergraduate medical education in the USA and Canada. In 2012, Computer Resources in Medical Education, Librarians in Medical Education, and the Association of American Medical Colleges Group on Information Resources conducted a national survey of medical education leaders about the use of tablet devices. The review of the data collected focused on information such as: the number and types of tablet adoption initiatives; primary drivers and funding sources of such initiatives; the use of tablets compared with other devices; effectiveness of tablets for various learning activities; availability of support resources provided; and barriers to adoption of tablets. Survey findings indicated that while some schools of medicine are adopting formal tablet initiatives, it is not yet standard practice. Further research is needed to determine whether tablet computers are a transient trend in undergraduate medical education or whether they will be increasingly integrated into medical schools and, if so, for which areas of undergraduate medical education they will be most useful.