Medical Student Technology Advisory Team (medSTAT)

The School of Medicine curriculum is more technology-dependent than ever. Students access web-based calendars, course materials, videos, cloud-based file storage, collaborative technologies, classroom response, evaluations and quizzes/exams on a regular basis. Beyond the School-provided technologies, students make personal choices of study resources, note-taking tools, mobile apps and much more, depending on their personal preferences. Yet despite these advances in recent years, many opportunities remain to make the existing technologies work better together and to adopt new tools.

SOM Academic & Learning Technologies invites all medical students to join the Medical Student Technology Advisory Team (medSTAT). The purpose for the group is to improve existing system implementations, explore new technologies, and allow the broader medical school community to learn from each other.

  • Serve as a liaison between students, administration, staff and faculty around issues of educational technology in the curriculum. Present feedback from classmates, and assist in interpreting student technology survey results.
  • Provide a sounding board about educational technology projects under consideration or in development. This may include evaluating prototypes of new equipment or systems.
  • Create a forum for students to share their technology successes and challenges, and get feedback from classmates and others. The outcome of this sharing may be a document or other resource disseminated to all students, or event(s) open to all medical students.
  • Explore issues of technology usage in health care settings and in society at large.

  • Pulse Oximeter Workshop (planned for September 2023). In this workshop students will learn how to prototype a basic pulse oximeter from scratch using a few simple electrical parts and integrating Arduino code with our design. This workshop will focus on the basic underlying theory of how pulse oximeter technology works, the key components of pulse oximeter design, and discussions surrounding current challenges and limitations in their use in medicine. The ultimate goal is to use the prototyping process as a way to learn about how medical technology interfaces with clinicians and patients and inspire curiosity about medical innovation in addressing unmet needs in the clinic.
  • Point-of-Care Library Guide and Tutorials (2022). This guide orients students to resources that support evidence-based decisions. Contents include: 1. Resources scope; 2. How to use resources; 3. Brief tutorials; and 4. How to access resources. Led by Anna Liss Jacobsen, Medicine & Research Services Librarian, UW Health Sciences Library. (Note, the medical school’s librarian as of July 2023 is Rachel Blume)
  • Clerkship Bookmarks (2021). This document is a compilation of useful web sites for students in core required clerkships in the Patient Care and Explore & Focus Phases. Led by Anita Samuel, E20, and Victorya Piehl, E18.
  • Foundations Bookmarks (2021). This document is a compilation of useful web sites for students entering the Foundations Phase. Led by Anita Samuel, E20.
  • Social Media Resources for Students (2019). This document lists useful Twitter accounts and other resources to help medical students navigate medical school and medical information. Led by Jackson Schmidt, E17, and Victorya Piehl, E18.
  • Step 1 Resources Guide (2017). This resource classifies third-party board exam prep resources to help students navigate the options. Led by Zach Fitzgerald, E15.
  • ​UW School of Medicine Computer List (2017). This resource identifies computers that meet the SOM requirements to assist incoming students in selecting a new computer. Led by John Bartoletta, E16.
  • OneNote note taking examples. This OneNote notebook demonstrates how to insert syllabus chapters and add annotations such as highlighting and hand-written notes using a Microsoft Surface and pen. Led by Laura Thornquist, E14.

Membership in medSTAT is open to all UW medical students – in all phases of the curriculum and at all WWAMI sites. Faculty, administrators and staff will also be invited to participate when appropriate.

Meetings will take place approximately once per month, scheduled in the early evening to minimize conflicts with class schedules. Communication between meetings will take place via a group listserv and/or social networking sites.

To sign up for medSTAT, please contact Michael Campion, Director of Academic & Learning Technologies: campion@uw.edu.