Use of Mobile Apps for Logging Patient Encounters and Facilitating and Tracking Direct Observation and Feedback of Medical Student Skills in the Clinical Setting

Undergraduate medical education consists of 15–24 months of clerkship, where medical students participate directly in patient care within various healthcare environments. It can be a challenge to document what patient encounters students have experienced, and that they have been directly observed in those settings. We set out to build mobile apps to improve the tracking of student–patient encounters, as well as their direct observation and feedback during the clerkship. Needs analysis was used to outline the current challenges and the requirements for each core rotation. We standardized the data collection across the different clinical rotations. We focused on tools for formative feedback only. Two apps were built. The first tracks Essential Clinical Experiences (ECE). For each rotation, students log required encounters that include clinical conditions or procedures. Students are required to log 267 ECEs throughout their clerkship. The second app records direct observation and feedback. To date, using the MacDOT app, over 11,000 direct observations have been logged, with over 2000 observers. These apps have improved the systematic approach to tracking medical student clinical encounters, as well as direct observation and feedback during the clinical clerkship. Ongoing enhancements are in progress.