Advances in Medical Education and Practice (Nov 2016)
Development of training-related health care software by a team of clinical educators: their experience, from conception to piloting
Abstract
Derfel ap Dafydd,1 Ruth Williamson,2 Philip Blunt,3 Dominic M Blunt4 1Department of Radiology, Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London, 2Imaging Department, Royal Bornemouth Hospital, Bornemouth, 3Savernake IT Ltd, Marlborough, 4Imaging Department, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK Abstract: The difficulties of producing useful, bespoke, and affordable information technology systems for large health care organizations are well publicized, following several high-profile endeavors in the UK. This article describes the experience of a small group of clinical radiologists and their collaborators in producing an information technology system – from conception to piloting. This system, called Trainee Tracker, enables automated target date recalculation of trainee milestones, depending on their work patterns and other individual circumstances. It utilizes an automated email alert system to notify the educational supervisors and trainees of approaching and elapsed target dates, in order to identify trainees in difficulty early and address their training needs accordingly. The challenges and advantages, both common to and contrasting with larger-scale projects, are also considered. The benefits of the development team’s “agile” approach to software development and the lessons learned will be of interest to medical educators, particularly those with expertise in e-portfolios and other training-related software. Keywords: training, appraisal, ARCP, Annual Review of Clinical Progression, portfolio, trainer
