Some readers may be surprised to see, in this journal, the paper by Dubrowski and Xeroulis titled ‘The utility of computer‐based video instruction for teaching technical skills to novice medical students’ (pp. 150–155) and feel that it is more suited to a journal specializing in (medical) education.
When a client asks us to produce a particular piece of teaching material we presume that:
They know what they want and why
They have given some thought to the best way to produce and use the material.
This may be wide of the mark and we as medical illustrators should be confident enough in our own knowledge and expertise to open a discussion with users if we think they are requesting inappropriate material or there is a better way of achieving the results they require. But such challenges to ‘the customer is always right’ must come from an evidence base, which research such as that reported in this paper can provide.
Dubrowski and Xeroulis set out to investigate how undergraduate medical students used custom‐designed computer‐based video instruction material to learn an instrument suturing and knot‐tying skill. They were able to demonstrate a mismatch between the needs of the novice learner and the teaching material designed/delivered by the expert practitioner. This is a common phenomenon and a demonstration of why expertise alone does not necessarily make one a good teacher. The medical illustrator is ideally placed to provide not only well designed and produced learning materials, but also expertise in how they assist the learning process.
Despite being written more than 20 years ago, Gilder’s paper about the design of medical teaching materials in relation to left brain – right brain theory is still very relevant today, even though technology has inevitably advanced.Footnote1 By understanding how the materials we produce assist the learning process, medical illustrators can help provide an important connection between teacher and learner and at the same time make their own jobs more interesting.
At a time when many medical illustrators are concerned about their services being bypassed in favour of DIY, gaining an understanding of such educational matters may be something that provides demonstrable added value to our services.
Notes
1Gilder RS. Left brain‐right brain theory and the design of medical teaching materials. J Audiovis Media Med 1982; 5: 45–50