A survey of PDA use in PBL-medical curricula

Objective: This study was undertaken to determine the personal digital assistant (PDA) functionalities for a problem-based learning (PBL) medical curriculum in general, the influence factors of incorporating PDAs, and the attitudes of medical educators, medical professions and educational technology specialists regarding the use of PDAs in such PBL-based medical curricula. Methods: Web-based survey was designed and conducted with medical faculty, medical professions and medical education technology specialists. Results: Four major PDA functionalities were identified, these being: clinical-log, reference, communication, and personal information management (PIM). Two major aspects to incorporating PDAs into PBL-medical curricula were determined from survey. Conclusion: There is a potential for PDAs to be incorporated into PBL-medical curricula. However, a clear strategy needs to be defined as how best to incorporate PDAs into PBL-medical curricula with minimal impact on students, as well as financial and resource implications for the university and medical school.