Preparing medical students for a filmless environment: Instruction on the preparation of electronic case presentations from PACS

Rationale and Objectives. As the use of picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) expands and radiology departments become increasingly filml ess, it will become increasingly necessary to teach physicians how to use P ACS and download diagnostic images. The authors developed an instruction me thod in which medical students enrolled in a radiology clerkship were taugh t how to use the PACS, download digital images, and incorporate them into a n electronic case presentation. The feasibility and potential benefits of t his instructional method were studied prospectively. Materials and Methods. Between June and October 1999, all 36 medical studen ts enrolled in Harvard Medical School's core radiology clerkship at Massach usetts General Hospital, Boston, were required to give an electronic radiol ogy case presentation with images downloaded from the departmental PACS. Th ey were taught how to download images, edit them, and then import them into PowerPoint software. They were also given access to the hospital informati on system to obtain pertinent clinical information. At the formal presentat ions, the images were displayed with a liquid crystal display (LCD) project or. The students were surveyed on the Ist and last days of the clerkship re garding their learning experiences. Results. Before the radiology clerkship, 81% of the students had never give n an electronic presentation with computer and LCD projector, 83% had no PA CS experience, and 56% had no PowerPoint experience. All students learned t o pre pare and deliver electronic presentations of radiologic cases downloa ded from PACS. Their presentations were informative, innovative, and entert aining, and the images were well displayed. The students praised the instru ction highly and thought their new skills would serve them well. Conclusion. Teaching medical students how to prepare and deliver electronic presentations of radiologic cases downloaded from PACS proved to be very f easible and well appreciated by the students.