New Paradigms for Psychiatry Education: An Evaluation of a Blended Teaching and Smartphone Application Model

Abstract

Over the last decade, there have been substantial improvements in Web-based Internet technologies, particularly with an increased development in smartphone technologies. Educators have tapped into the various advances in technology, by incorporating the use of the Internet as a medium for various modalities of teaching. In psychiatry, the application of up-to-date technology has so far been limited to the evaluation of online learning. The usefulness of newer smartphone technologies as another modality to augment and fulfill educational needs has yet to be explored widely (Weninger et al., 2009). Our main research objectives were to: (a) highlight the developmental process of a blended learning model that incorporated both traditional teaching methods alongside advances in Web-based and smartphone technologies; (b) determine whether students in our university would be receptive towards this blended educational model; (c) determine the students’ perspectives towards this new blended educational model for psychiatry. Both the online portal and web-based application were launched in July 2012, and the usage data together with initial perspectives were obtained. The native application was then developed from August 2013 onwards. After their end-of-posting psychiatry clinical examination, students were recruited to complete a survey questionnaire, which incorporated their perspectives of the application. The online portal, web-based application and native smartphone application were well-received, with high utilization rates. 57.1% of students concurred that having a smartphone application in psychiatry was helpful in augmenting learning needs. Quantitative analysis was conducted using a focus group method and the results highlighted how integrating technology into formal learning can transform the learning experience of students in psychiatry in a positive manner. This study is an initial study that has demonstrated how a blended education model for Psychiatry, with the incorporation of the latest advances in both the Internet and smartphone technologies has enabled students’ learning. It is hoped that there will be more clinicians who are willing to incorporate technology in their course delivery and conduct further studies to evaluate changes in satisfaction scores as well as objective improvement in clinical skills.