Use of E-Portfolios in Health Professions Education

In light of the changing landscape of workforce demand, digital technologies are becoming increasingly important to support students with their studies and professional preparation. As such, tertiary institutions are embedding curriculum approaches focused on the development of employability skills and drawing upon technology in order to prepare students for the real world of work in a manner that is scalable and transferable. Digital technologies such as ePortfolios have become an increasingly utilized platform for reflection, evidencing professional competencies and professional branding. Within this chapter, the authors discuss the benefits and limitations of these platforms from the perspectives of students, staff, professional, and institutional contexts. Case studies are utilzsed to demonstrate ePortfolios in practice across the allied health disciplines and key research questions and solutions for the future are discussed.

The Use of an Online Adaptive Learning Platform as an Adjunct to Live Simulated Clinical Encounters

Adaptive learning platforms that individualize each learner's experience according to their input have only recently become widely accessible. This chapter illustrates some of the potential of adaptive learning platforms and describes a case study where this emerging technology has been used with physiotherapy students in a simulated clinical setting. Aspects of patient care scenarios presented with an adaptive learning platform were interleaved with live simulated patient interactions. Evaluation of the projects and the benefits and challenges of using adaptive learning platforms in biomedical education are discussed.

Evolving Dietetics Education to Respond to Emerging Technologies in Nutritional Genomics

Nutritional genomics is a fast-growing area of precision medicine. It is expected that dietitians will be key players in this area. This chapter discusses the current state of industry, from research to the availability of commercial products, their regulation, and consumer perceptions. Current issues and controversies surrounding the readiness, availability, and delivery of this technology to consumers are examined, and finally, an education framework describing core competencies is presented. The framework aims to provide dietitians with the necessary tools to evaluate and make decisions on the potential for translation of this technology to clinical practice for disease prevention and management.

Introduction and Current Status of Technology in Teaching and Learning of Allied Healthcare Students

Allied healthcare professionals are an integral part of multidisciplinary healthcare teams requiring highly skilled and competent members from every discipline. Clinical and allied health education in Australia is challenged by increasing student numbers, changing healthcare practices, and service pressures impacting the clinical training of students. There is a need to optimise the effectiveness and efficiency of the way students develop their professional skills. New technological approaches deliver student-centered education involving work-integrated learning. This chapter covers different strategies developed and implemented over time, merging various technologies in an innovative manner providing better standardized skills and competencies to more students within limited resources to prepare them for a global inter-professional multidisciplinary healthcare team providing efficient service to society. It will also provide future directions to adapt technology from the non-healthcare industry to healthcare training and share some strategies of bringing the workplace to the classroom.

Digital Technologies for Teaching for Allied Healthcare Students and Future Directions

Digital technologies are an integral component of the allied healthcare curricula, including dental technology, physiotherapy, pharmacy, nutrition, nursing, and laboratory medicine. Various digital technologies are implemented for the education of allied healthcare students. They have been used for curriculum design, engaging and facilitating the understanding of fundamental concepts in various disciplines, the development of active learning strategies, and designing critical thinking and clinical reasoning education. Online digital atlases and libraries provide flexible resources as study tools for students in the classroom and on industry placement. Adaptive digital learning, communication technologies, and virtual reality for teaching have become an essential component of the allied healthcare education. As students develop skills for their profession, the digital technologies have provided a platform for the documentation of their competencies and progress through industry placement, allowing academic staff to chart their progress and employers to assess the graduate competencies.

Simulated Learning Environments to Prepare for Clinical Placements

Students commencing clinical placements often have difficulty applying their knowledge to produce meaningful clinical interactions. Patient-centred simulation can provide a bridge to clinical practice but can be expensive. This chapter describes the development and evaluation of a simulated environment integrating patient-centred simulation with an online adaptive learning platform to assist students to transition from classroom to placement. Student confidence increased significantly from pre- to post-simulation in all 12 areas that were surveyed from 3.4/6 (2.9–4.2) to 3.9/6 (3.7-4.5). Ninety-one percent of students felt better prepared for placement. The activity was not assessable and students rated this aspect highly for engagement and efficacy of learning. Student marks on their subsequent clinical placement were significantly higher for professional behavior, communication, and evidence-based practice compared with previous cohorts of students who had not undertaken a similar program.

Virtual Microscopy in Haematology and Histopathology Education

Virtual microscopy is a method by which real-time microscopic illustrations get transmitted digitally via computer networks. There is increasing evidence to suggest that virtual microscopy combined with other didactic methods in teaching make significant improvements in student interaction and curiosity in histopathology and haematology teaching. The introduction of virtual microscopy has opened up a big arena in the field of e-learning in histopathology and haematology curriculum. Case studies prove the technological benefits of virtual microscopy in interacting off-campus students and educators. Recent technological advances have improved the use of virtual microscopy and enabled them to complement students learning in class room as well as for routine diagnostics. In this chapter, the authors discuss the significance, usefulness, and limitations of virtual microscopy in education. In addition, the chapter has provided several technical considerations to develop a friendly web-based virtual microscopy tool in teaching.

The Scholarship of Learning and Teaching in the Dynamic Discipline of Pharmacology and Chemistry

The scholarship of learning and teaching (SoLT) involves research into practices of teaching, learning, and curriculum. SoLT's main principle is that effective teachers in higher education should engage in scholarly teaching practices as a matter of course by staying in touch with the latest research developments in their discipline, integrating these developments into their curriculum, and routinely gathering and using student feedback to guide curriculum review and improvement. SoLT research focuses on understanding student learning in order to improve the teaching and learning experience for participants. SoLT principles are particularly important in pharmacology and chemistry education because they entail rich content that is rapidly changing. Over the years, the discipline of pharmacology has undergone rapid expansion and advancement: the number of United States Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs has increased exponentially, patients have become more educated, and our knowledge of the mechanisms underlying many adverse drug events and interactions has evolved.

Implementing Emerging Technologies to Support Work-Integrated Learning in Allied Health Education

The adoption and implementation of new technology to support work-integrated learning (WIL) is often challenging for staff and students. In this chapter, the authors discuss the processes and decisions involved from early piloting to potential institutional adoption of relevant technology (emerging or otherwise) and provide practical tools for the readers' use. The discussion is supported by evidence from allied health programs at a large higher education institution in Australia and identifies issues, controversies, and problems involved in new technology adoption. The importance of clarifying the pedagogical need before looking to technology is reinforced. Guidelines for identifying emerging and/or innovative use of current technologies are described, followed by discussion of considerations for selection of technologies that best align with the educational requirement.

Digital Approaches to Embedding Employability

The fourth industrial revolution has seen significant national and international workplace change, with greater emphasis on innovation and digital adaptation. In response, universities across the sector are recognizing the importance of supporting the education of work-ready graduates and the continuing professional development of the existing professional workforce. Digital technologies have the potential to facilitate the development of employability skills such as digital literacy and reflection and foster continuing links to the profession and learning community. This chapter discusses the importance of embedding authentic, digitally enabled employability curriculum across the student and professional lifecycle, and showcases practice in the context of health professional education. A matrix for the selection of technologies that support the development of employability skills is also proposed and discussed.