Student versus
Physician
Clinical Workstations
- Lower cost of student
time: With a prototype system, there are inherent inefficiencies. It
is less costly for a student to waste time with a prototype than a health
care workers.
- Existing protections
of patient: Software to be used by a health care worker that is interacting
with a clinical system must be carefully checked for quality and accuracy
of content and interaction. A system used by a student need not be as carefully
constructed since the institution already has safeguards in place to protect
the patient from the student.
- Hawthorne Effect:
Technology is often percieved as good despite obvious flaws. With students
there is also the desire to expose them to even flawed tools to prepare
them for use of future, hopefully less flawed tools.
- Motivation:
Assuming the faculty has been convinced of the usefulness of software, they
have motivational tools (e.g. grades) that are more effective than any measure
that can be used with health care workers.
- Lower Expectations:
Students have lower expectations and more limited information needs than
health care workers. In other words, it is easier to meet those expectations.
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