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U N I V E R S I T Y O F P I T T S B U R G H |
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A newsletter devoted to the support of teaching and learning at the University of Pittsburgh |
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U N I V E R S I T Y O F P I T T S B U R G H |
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A newsletter devoted to the support of teaching and learning at the University of Pittsburgh |
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Teledermatology in Pediatric Medical EducationBecause up to 30 percent of acute care visits to pediatricians are for
dermatological problems, School of Medicine faculty Nader Shaikh, Phillip Kaleida, Alejandro Hoberman, and Dena Hofkosh identify training in pediatric dermatology as essential to the education of physicians caring for children. However, there are no pediatric dermatologists at the University of Pittsburgh to teach these vital skills. Therefore, Shaikh, project director of Use of Teledermatology in Pediatric Medical Education, through remote electronic consultations, called teledermatology, will coordinate education in pediatric dermatology with Bernard Cohen, an internationally recognized pediatric dermatologist at Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins Hospital for Children. The project focuses on improving dermatology training for medical students and residents working in the outpatient department of Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Trainees will examine patients with dermatological problems, then review these cases with their supervising pediatricians. Shaikh explains, “As supervisors we sometimes encounter cases in clinic that we’re not sure of the diagnosis.” In these ambiguous cases (with patient consent) the lesion will be photographed with a digital camera. This digital image, along with relevant patient information, then will be sent through a Web-based, password protected system to Cohen. He will respond with recommendations for the trainee on how to improve diagnosis and management skills. To ensure consistency, accuracy, and quality in both the transfer of the information and the resultant learning experiences, standardized treatment and assessment forms have been created. An added benefit of these remote consultations will be increased skills of faculty who supervise medical students and resident education in pediatrics. As Shaikh notes, “I will be learning, too. I look forward to learning more about the pattern recognition and diagnostic algorithms used by pediatric dermatologists.” Eventually, he and his team will compile a case-based, pediatric dermatology library to be used in medical student and resident education. Part of the ACIE funding will be for the development of this digital library collection. This innovative project to enhance pediatric education will affect more than 150 medical trainees. Furthermore, the possibility exists for distribution outside the University.
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A newsletter devoted to the support of teaching and learning at the University of Pittsburgh |
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for Instructional Development & Distance Education |
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