Harnessing the IT factor in medical education

Escalating healthcare costs in Singapore have produced a significant movement of patients into ambulatory care, and the consequent dearth of clinical teaching materials. This deficiency has likewise prompted the creation of ambulatory teaching clinics and the use of standardised patients and simulators. In the last few decades, educators have utilised digital technology, for instance, digitally recorded heart and breath sounds, and digitised video vignettes, in medical education. We describe several pedagogical initiatives that we have undertaken at our university school of medicine.