Emergency Medicine
We all know junior doctors are, at times, stretched to the limits. Aside from the pressures of working in a hectic and stressful environment, they also have to find the time to fit in their crucial ongoing postgraduate training. The Southampton Emergency Medicine Project (SEMEP) is finding ways to help.
SEMEP is a project run jointly by the Emergency Department at Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust and
the Audio and Media Technology Research Group at Southampton Solent University, led by Dr Chris Barlow. Its aim is to make more effective use of valuable training time for junior doctors, by moving away from the traditional lecture delivery, towards a more blended approach.
To research how to optimise the effectiveness of training – through both online and face-to-face learning – a number of different technologies are being implemented and evaluated. These include interactive materials, blogs, podcasts, ‘virtual lectures’ using chromakey technology, as well as a range of other learning tools such as case study-based seminars. The project makes use of the Solent Online Learning environment, as well as its own website, a Facebook group and a Twitter feed.
Research into junior doctors’ use of social media indicated a preference for speed of response to information over accuracy, leading them to prefer to use resources such as Wikipedia and other online encyclopaedias to gain quick information, and face-to-face contact with senior staff for more detailed responses. These results will allow the team to further refine their use of these tools for maximum effect.
A real impact
The long-term impact of this project will be to formulate the most effective means of postgraduate training for junior doctors. It will lead to the development of best practice through Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust, then ideally roll out to other hospitals – initially through the Wessex Deanery. With the increasing time and resource constraints for training in hospitals, SEMEP offers a real and positive impact on overall training quality, and consequently patient care, at Southampton and the wider NHS.
Consultancy
The audio and media technology research group has a number of research interests in diverse areas. In particular there is a strong overlap between research and consultancy, with several projects focusing on both. Two of the most active areas are: the use of audio, video and multimedia technology in professional training and education; and research based on acoustic test and measurement for environmental analysis, product development and construction.