The residency program of the Department of Anesthesiology at Weill Cornell Medicine has been recognized as an Apple Distinguished Program for its success in creating a digital learning environment using mobile technology.
The Apple Distinguished Program designation is reserved for programs that meet criteria for innovation, leadership and educational excellence, and demonstrate a clear vision of exemplary learning environments.
Dr. Kane Pryor
Under the leadership of Dr. Kane Pryor, director of education and the department’s newly-appointed vice chair for academic affairs, the program delivers iPads to all incoming residents. The tablets are configured to provide easy access to the clinical and academic content residents need, including the formal curriculum, now housed in iTunes U; a wealth of digital textbooks and journals from the college’s medical library; and medical resources related to the care of patients.
“Giving them access to this kind of breadth and depth was simply not possible before we made the iPad central to our education,” said Dr. Pryor.
For Dr. Pryor, the digital learning program grew out of a desire to re-imagine the education curriculum in a way that would resonate with residents, and be relevant to the ways they consume information.
“Our learners are millennials,” he explained. “They’re using mobile digital technology in every aspect of their lives — it is certainly the dominant platform for how they learn about the world. And so it made no sense to not make it the way they learn about the medical knowledge and skills they have to acquire.”
Another key element of the program is the communication app Slack. Faculty use it to quickly push out information to residents’ smartphones, such as links to important new research, or to a fact of the day; that is, a small educational snippet that is shared every morning.
Since introducing the digital curriculum in 2014, the residency program has seen a dramatic increase in test scores on the American Board of Anesthesiology’s annual exam. And, especially gratifying to Dr. Pryor, residents report feeling more engaged — on the program's yearly questionnaire, overall satisfaction scores have nearly doubled.
Related Information:
- Weill Cornell Anesthesiology Residency Program
- Education at Weill Cornell Anesthesiology
- Dr. Kane Pryor