MEDICAL ILLUSTRATION & TECHNOLOGY UNIT

DEPARTMENT OF MEDICAL EDUCATION

COURSES

Medical Informatics

200 Level

300 Level

400 Level

OVERVIEW

The need for a separate Department of Medical Education, stems from the modern trend on information technology as applied to medicine. This department will not only prescribe and teach using mainly workshop method, medical informatics to all health professional students, and not just medical students. It will prescribe all functions under the umbrella of medical education. More importantly this department will be saddled with the responsibility of administering problem based learning topics to students and conducting assessments of the topics sent by the various departments of the College. It is divided into the following units- Medical Informatics, Biomedical Communications, Medical Illustration and Technology Unit and Biomedical Engineering. Problems Based learning is under Medical Informatics.

OBJECTIVES

The overall objectives of the teaching program in the department of Medical Informatics would be

1.                   To teach the principles of information technology and education in the health sciences

2.                   To teach the principles of computer usage in modern literary scene

3.                   To teach the principles of electronic learning derived from computer literacy

4.                   To introduce the student to information databases around the world, especially on the world wide web.

5.                   To introduce the knowledge of intranet work in a hospital setting for patients’ records input and retrieval.

TEACHING AND LEARNING METHODS
Method of teaching would be mainly via workshops in large computer laboratories for students. Also computers placed in wards would be accessible to students for entering their data on patient records, (e.g. clerking) and also for retrieval of programs needed for diagnosis and management of patient for learning. A big digital library is being prescribed for information access. Also most of the theoretical aspects will be learned via problem-based learning method. There would be no instructions (lectures) in this course.

EVALUATION

Electronic evaluation is the rule, via internet or intranet using multiple choice questions, essays and short answer questions. Students will have continuous assessment for each course. A comprehensive final examination in medical informatics must be passed prior to proceeding with the 2^nd MB. Final examination on the remainder of the Family Medicine curriculum will be part of the final MBBS examination (Medicine/Surgery/Family Medicine).

200 LEVEL

MIF 211:  INTRODUCTION TO MEDICAL INFORMATICS (1 CREDIT)       

Course objectives:

At the end of the course the student should be able to list and describe methods of accessing electronic information.

Teaching & Learning Methods:

Lectures, tutorials

Problem based learning.

Evaluation

MCQ (True-False items, Essay, Practical)

Content

Introduction to computers and medical informatics                                               

- Course objectives for medical informatics

- Overview of topics to be covered

- Course requirements and expectations

- Benefits of computers

- Caring for the computer

Keyboarding skills                                                                                              

-  Purpose of keyboard training

- Orientation to computer keyboard

- Instructions on use of keyboarding program

- Skills assessment and requirements

Hardware                                                                                                         

- Input devices (keyboard, mouse, scanner, camera, microphone

- Output devices (monitor, printer, projector, and speakers)

- Connectivity devices (modem, network devices, cables, ports)

- Storage media (removable storage, hard disk drives)

- Memory

- Computer processor

Software                                                                                  

- Computer language

- Computer programming

- Types of software

- Copyright laws

Operating system 1                                                                   

- Functions of the operating system

- Types of operating systems

- Viewing computer contents

- File types and structure

- Working with multiple windows

- System tools

- Control panel

- Online help and tutorials

- Finding files

- Installing and removing programs

- File management

- Disk management

- Backup of computer files

- Basic troubleshooting

Viruses and computer security                                                    

- Nature of computer viruses and transmission

- Antivirus software

- Restoring system files and settings

- Protecting documents

- Firewall protection

Word Processing                                                                       

- Creating a document

- Editing a document

- Formatting text

- Page setup

- Printing a document

- Outlines and numbered lists

- Tables

- Inserting and linking objects

- Text boxes

- Graphics and diagrams

- Templates

- Function keys and keyboards shortcuts

Spreadsheet 1                                                  

- Workbooks and worksheets

- Entering and selecting data

- Referencing and naming cells and worksheets

- Editing worksheet data

- Formatting worksheets

- Coping and moving data and worksheets

- Filtering and sorting

- Importing data

- Using functions and summarizing data

- Creating charts

Internet 1                                                                                                                     

- History of the internet

- Structure of the internet

- Web browsers

- Nomenclature

- Web site structure

- HTML files

- Hyperlinks

- Searching the web

- Internet service providers (ISP)

- Cookies and scripts

- Internet media

- Internet chats

- User groups

- Saving files

- Downloading programs

- Internet security and privacy

- Medical resources

Electronic mail 1                                                                                                

- E-mail programme

- Address formats and sending to multiple addresses

- Creating messages

- Attaching files

- Email security and privacy

- Address books

- Mailing lists

- Responding to messages

- Organizing and archiving messages

Literature search                                                                                                           

- Accessing medical literature

- Using medical subject headings

- Defining search parameters

- Saving results of your search

- Obtaining original articles

MIF 212:  MEDICAL INFORMATICS I (1 CREDIT)

Course objectives:

At the end of the course the student should be able to list and describe software applications in information technology and in telemedicine.

Teaching & Learning Methods:

Lectures, tutorials

Problem based learning.

Evaluation

MCQ (True-False items, Essay, Practical)

Content

Presentation software/animation                                                                                     

- Creating a presentation outline

- Formatting text

- Inserting tables and charts

- Inserting pictures

- Inserting sound

- Animating graphics

- Design templates

Digital imaging                                                                          

- File formats

- Acquiring digital images

- Optical character recognition (OCR)

- Digital image editing

Multimedia                                                                                

- Medical multimedia programs

- Developing multimedia programs

Web page design                                                                      

- HTML editing

- Designing websites and WebPages

- Hyperlinks

- Working with graphics

- Using forms and databases

- Publishing websites

- Maintaining websites

Relational database 1                                                                                                    

- Database formats

- Fields and tables

- Forms for data entry

- Queries

- Reports

Computer networks                                                                                                       

- Network structure

- Advantages of a network

- Network hardware

- Network software

- Using a network

Management information systems (MIS)                                                                          

- Medical information

- Data collection and entry

- Data organisation

- Data analysis

- Data presentation

- Using data to direct decisions

Telemedicine                                                                                                                

- Definition and benefits

- Teleradiology

- Teleconsulting

- Hardware and software requirements

- Services available

Electronic health record                                                                                                 

- Benefits of health electronic records

- Forms of electronic health records

- Protecting confidentiality

- Using an electronic health record

- Available services

Clinical decision support                                                                                                 

- Computer-assisted diagnosis

- Drug interactions

- Drugs of choice

- Clinical guidelines

- Evidence-based databases

- Medical resources

Security in clinical information systems                                                                            

- Need for security

- Encryption and passwords

- Data backup

- Error checking

Data interchange standards                                                                                            

- Database formats

- Importing and exporting data

- Communication and transmission protocols

Information retrieval

- Constructing queries

- Accessing data

- Analysis and presentation of data

Health professional education                                                                                         

- Continuing medical education

- CD-ROM medical resources

- Internet educational resources

Consumer health informatics                                                                                          

- Email and Internet consultation

- Consumer health websites

- Using the Internet to improve health

Handheld computing                                                                                                      

- Types of handheld devices

- Medical programs for handheld devices

- Managing contacts

- Managing schedule

300 LEVEL

MIF 311:  MEDICAL INFORMATICS II (1 CREDIT)

Course objectives:

At the end of the course the student should be able to list and describe methods for medical electronic learning and health record.

Teaching & Learning Methods:

Lectures, tutorials

Problem based learning.

Evaluation

MCQ (True-False items, Essay, Practical)

Content

Operating system 2                                                       

- Voice recognition software

- Managing user accounts

- Hardware settings and device drivers

- CMOS and system BIOS

- Networking computers

- Disk and file structure

- Performance and maintenance

- Troubleshooting

Word processing 2                                                        

- Working with long documents

- Mail merge

- Importing objects

- Saving in alternative text formats

- Style sheets

- Collaboration on documents

Spreadsheet 2                                                              

- Creating projections and scenarios

- Data analysis features

- Subtotals and outlining

- Obtain and analyse data from the web

- Data validation

- Collaboration and merging spreadsheets

Relational database 2                                                                                                    

- Specialised queries

- Structured queried language

- Using functions and expressions

- Importing and exporting data

- Maintaining a database

- Data access pages on the web

- Customising forms

Internet 2                                                                                                                     

- Exploring medical resources

- Determining the quality of medical resources

- Advanced browser settings

- Advanced web searches

Electronic mail 2                                                                                                

- Configuring email accounts

- Compressing files

- Collaborating via email

- Configuring email options

Computer biostatistics and Epi Info 1       

- Form design

- Data entry

- Checking data entry

- Import and export data

- Data analysis

400 LEVEL

MIF 411: CLINICAL INFORMATICS (1 CREDIT)

Course objectives:

At the end of the course the student should be able to list and describe evidence based clinical decision making with the use of computer assisted diagnosis.

Teaching & Learning Methods:

Lectures, tutorials

Problem based learning.

Evaluation

MCQ (True-False items, Essay, Practical)

Content

During Introductory Medicine/Surgery                                                                      

Evidence based medicine

Finding clinical evidence

Evaluating clinical evidence

Systematic reviews

Clinical guidelines

Using research findings in clinical practice

Medical decision making

Clinical service informatics

• Laboratory diagnostics
• Xrays/Radiological services
• Physiotherapy
• Patient records and entering patients records
  Problem oriented medical records (POMR)

List of Staff