Athens, Ga. – Kendall Ho, one of the top experts in the use of information technologies to accelerate the incorporation of the latest health evidence into routine medical practice, will be the keynote speaker at the third annual conference of the University of Georgia’s Institute for Evidence-Based Health Professions Education on Friday, March 30.
The conference, “Using Technology to Enhance Teaching, Learning and Practice in the Health Professions,” will be held from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education Conference Center and Hotel. While the conference is open and free to the public, registration is required.
Ho, a practicing emergency medicine specialist, is an associate professor and founding director of the eHealth Strategy Office in the University of British Columbia’s department of emergency medicine. He will deliver the keynote address “Leveraging eHealth in Education and Practice: Opportunities, Challenges and Lessons Learned (so far)” at 8:45 a.m. in Masters Hall of the Georgia Center.
Participants from Georgia and across the country will hear several speakers from a diverse group of UGA’s best researchers, teachers and professionals, all focused on the intersection of technology, teaching, learning and practice in the health disciplines.
Conference sessions have been developed to help participants learn how to enhance teaching, learning and clinical practice using new forms of technology. Breakout session topics include design principles for effective case-based e-learning, the iPad as a mobile video device, interactive virtual characters for human and canine medical neuroscience education, using clickers in class: strategies for student engagement, and using an iPhone to teach clinical diagnosis.
The Institute for Evidence-Based Health Professions Education serves as a source of expertise and training for evidence-based professional education programs in public health, medicine and other health professions.
“With UGA’s world-renowned adult education programs, collaborative arena and integrative state-of-the-art research laboratories, we are emerging as a national leader in this expanding area of study and pedagogy,” said Ronald Cervero, co-director of the institute and associate dean for outreach and engagement in UGA’s College of Education.
According to Cervero, evidence-based health care considers the best methods for teaching health professionals, and it assimilates the best evidence available that can be built into health care practice. For example, the institute is currently researching survival after inpatient CPR in adults and, when the systematic review is done, it will share the results with physicians and other health care providers.
According to Mark Ebell, co-director of the institute and associate professor of epidemiology in UGA’s College of Public Health, evidence-based practice “…allows clinicians, providers, patients and others to identify and integrate the best available evidence into decisions about treatment [or lack of treatment], diagnostics and quality-of-life issues. It makes sense that this paradigm will help guide our work in research and education, which in turn will lead to the development of better health care practice guidelines and quality improvement initiatives.”
While the institute currently only offers seminars, webcasts and the annual conference, there are plans to begin offering an online master’s degree program in fall 2013. Intended for health care professionals in all disciplines who are interested in becoming better educators, scholars and researchers, participants will learn basic principles in program development, evaluation, adult education and continuing professional education. Cutting edge courses in evidence-based practice, health care informatics and systematic reviews will be a part of the curriculum. Upon completion of the two-year program, participants will have earned a master’s of education degree in health professions education.
To register for the conference, see http://ebp.uga.edu/conference. For more information, call 706/542-8799 or email Suzanne Hall at shall@uga.edu.
UGA Institute for Evidence-Based Health Professions Education
The UGA Institute for Evidence-Based Health Professions Education relies heavily on interdisciplinary research, collaboration and provider education for quality patient care. Along with the College of Education and the College of Public Health, other colleges involved include Pharmacy, Veterinary Medicine, Social Work and Family and Consumer Sciences. For more information about the institute, which is based at the new UGA Health Sciences Campus on Prince Avenue, see http://ebp.uga.edu/.