We maintain an active portfolio of ideas that have captured our interest in one way or another. The following are some that have potential for further idea development and possible pilot projects.
Nintendo Wii
Nintendo’s newest game system utilizes motion sensing technology to enable users to interact with screen displays using a hand-held controller. It allows emulation of motion in the real environment, and connects it to the onscreen simulation (e.g., the motion of swinging a baseball bat or tennis racket, throwing a bowling ball, and even tracking your fists to box a virtual opponent). Technologies developed for the gaming industry are often introduced at competitive prices with intriguing alternative application, For example, users are already stretching the potential of the Wiimote control and infrared sensor bar by turning the controller around and experimenting with tracking objects in 2D and 3D on a computer screen.
Extrapolation from some preliminary studies are intriguing: One study shows that warming-up on a Wii with a marble maze game that challenges fine motor skills subsequently improves skills on a surgical simulator. Researchers are now experimenting with Wii technology to develop a new surgical simulator. There are also experiments that transform the computer screen into a portal that appears to react to head and body movement creating a realistic illusion of spatial depth.
By combining a Wiimote, infrared pens (assembled for < $2 each), and instructions found on the Web, Center staff is working on an interactive white board that will allow us to use any desk surface or wall to simulate a mouse, draw in a drawing program, and manipulate windows. Further brainstorming of this technology is underway.
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Technology
RFID tags are widely used in enterprise supply chain management to improve efficiency of inventory tracking and management. They send a signal to a nearby sensor indicating that an object is in range, and potentially providing information about the object. They are designed to be very small and inexpensive (e.g., 5 cents per tag).
What could we learn if we attached RFID badges to residents and were able to track interactions with colleagues, team members, patients, and other health care professionals? Could we get a snap shot of social networks, and better understand where and how often interactions are occurring in the health care setting?. These questions might be key to understanding not only the context within which to interpret multi-source feedback of the kind used for assessment of professional behaviors but also such issues as teamwork, leadership and even cultural sensitivity
Sociometric Nomination
Though the Assessment of Professional Behaviors (APB) project has been moved out of the Center for development, we continue to investigate possible approaches to capturing information about individuals nested within a social network; and, to investigate the value of “global” ratings, as opposed to recordings of observed behaviors. To that end, we have begun investigating potential applications of “sociometric nomination”, an approach used in developmental psychology that involves having individuals choose and rank peers within some relevant context. For example, in a hospital setting, each resident might have a form that asks, “Which three of your colleagues would you approach first with a clinical question?” and the resident would then write down their first, second and third choices. The social network map created by the aggregations of questions like these could provide information that complements the information obtained from the APB instrument.
Transparency and Consumer Participation: The Radiohead Experiment
In October of 2007, the British band Radiohead made its newest album, “In Rainbows”, available for download on a “pay-what-you-want” basis. Fans could download the album for as little as £0.45 (about a dollar) and no more than £99.99 and, if they so chose, could pre-order a “discbox” collection (which included a heavyweight vinyl version of the album and other bonus material) for $80. Most of the money paid for the downloaded albums went to the band, since there was no high-profile record company in the loop. The fact that fans could download the digital album for free October – December 2007 did not seem to affect sales of the hardcover CD, which became available in January 2008 and was near the top of the sales charts with a list price of $13.98. Bloggers indicated that they were williing to pay, and sometime pay more than is typical for albums, since they knew that the money was going directly to the group, and not to an intermediary.
What implications could this fascinating social experiment of nature hold for assessment in the health care arena?
Vocational Fatigue
Physicians work hard every day to improve the lot of their patients. This work offers unrivaled rewards, but too often comes with a price, namely stress. The demands physicians face often lead to severe levels of emotional and physical exhaustion, poor attitudes with patients and colleagues, or a lack of professional satisfaction. We have had discussions with researchers in this area in terms of such questions as “what causes vocational fatigue, what demographic is affected the most, what measures can be taken by healthcare organizations, how can the physician minimize the risk or lessen stress?” This is turn leads to potentially crucial questions about the effects on competence of healthcare provider burnout and associated issues of depression, substance abuse and aberrant behavior.
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