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The student paper competition in medical informatics at the symposium on computer applications in medical care (SCAMC)
Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine 21 (1985) vii-viii
vii
Elsevier CPB 211GE
Guest Editorial
The Student Paper Competition in Medical Informatics at the Symposium on Computer Applications in Medical Care (SCAMC) H e l m u t h F. Orthner, Ph.D. George Washington University Medical Center
Lawrence C. K i n g s l a n d III, Ph.D. National Library of Medicine
The explosive growth of computer applications in medical care reflects the need and desire of health care professionals to increase quality and productivity in health care delivery. As computing costs decrease, computing capability becomes more widespread in a spiral which places a premium on professionals having sufficient knowledge for the effective use of this new capability. This will be especially important when 32-bit microcomputers provide desk-top mainframe capabilities and 'fifth-generation' software allows medical computer scientists to build systems that truly extend the capabilities of health care practitioners. In a few years, specialized 'physician extender' packages will be available to augment physician care. These packages will have built-in professional expertise and knowledge that makes them appear intelligent. In order to use these packages, health care professionals will find it desirable to adjust their pattern of practice. The adjustments will affect the heart of professional activity - clinical decision-making, interaction with patients, and contacts with colleagues. Medical education must change in order to prepare physicians for this new operating environment. This has been recognized by leaders in medical education. A recent report by the Panel on the General Professional Education of the Physician and College Preparation for Medicine (GPEP) established by the Association of American Medical Colleges is entitled "Physicians for the Twenty-First Century" [1]. This report calls on medical schools to "... designate an academic unit for institutional leadership in the application of information sciences and computer technology to the general professional education of physicians and promote their effective use" [2]. Several university-based medical centers have already established academic units in medical informatics and medical information science. The National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health supports through its Extramural Programs activities several programs which further the development of medical informatics and the training of professionals in this discipline [3]. Recognizing that progress in this field depends in large part on young health care professionals, computer scientists and biomedical engineers, the Board of Directors of the Symposium on Computer Applications in Medical Care (SCAMC) established in 1981 a Student Paper Competition in Medical Informatics. The purpose of the competition is to stimulate students to work in the area of computer applications in medical care and to submit papers expressing original ideas in the broad field of medical informatics. Any topic or issue which involves computer science or biomedical engineering in conjunction with health care is considered appropriate. The definition of 'student' is deliberately kept broad. All participants must be enrolled in a degree granting program of an accredited college or in an accredited residency specialty program. Students and 0169-2607/85/$03.30 © 1985 Elsevier SciencePublishers B.V. (BiomedicalDivision)
VIII
resident physicians holding earned doctorates in other fields and physicians already certified by a medical specialty board are not eligible. The participant's academic advisor, department chairman, dean or residency program director must certify that the work described in the submitted paper is substantially the work of the student participant. In recent years, 30 to 40 papers have been submitted to the competition each summer for judging. Topics have ranged from nursing care to self-care, from biomedical engineering to image processing, from computer assisted instruction to artificial intelligence. The submissions have been evaluated in two phases. In the first phase, the manuscripts are judged by a panel of independent reviewers. Critical review by this panel, with scoring for originality and innovativeness, analysis of relevant prior work, relevance of the contribution to medical informatics and the organization and clarity of the exposition, results in the narrowing of this field to no more than ten finalists based on the manuscripts alone. These ten finalists are invited to the Symposium at SCAMC expense to present their work orally during a special session. On the combined basis of the written papers and the oral presentations, including the degree of knowledge and professionalism with which the participant responded during questioning after the presentation, awardees are chosen. The winner of the Student Paper Competition in Medical Informatics receives the Martin N. Epstein Award. The winner and the second and third prize recipients receive financial awards in addition to having their expenses to attend the Symposium paid by SCAMC. The award ceremony is given a prominent place in the program of the Symposium, adding to the recognition accorded the awardees and underscoring the importance of the competition in the estimation of the Symposium organizers. This competition is made possible through the farsightedness of the SCAMC, Inc. Board of Directors and the generous donation of considerable time by a fine body of independent reviewers. The reviewers have had backgrounds in many medical specialty areas, in biomedical engineering and image analysis, in medical education, computer science, artificial intelligence and physiological modelling. The competition has in one sense come full circle, as two awardees from the first Student Paper Competition in 1981 were invited to be judges for the 1984 competition. The opinions of the reviewers are sometimes far from homogeneous, resulting in spirited discussion as the awardees are chosen. One of the authors (HFO) has been Coordinator of the Student Paper Competition in Medical Informatics since its inception in 1981. The baton is now being passed to his co-author (LCK), who will hold this position in 1985 and 1986. He can be reached through the Office of Continuing Medical Education, George Washington University Medical Center, 2300 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20037. The telephone number is (202) 676-8928.
References [1] Project Panel on the General ProfessionalEducation of the Physician and College Preparation for Medicine, Association of American Medical Colleges, Physicians for the twenty-firstcentury,J. Med. Educ. 59:11 (November1984) Part 2, 1-208. [2] Project Panel on the General ProfessionalEducation of the Physician and College Preparation for Medicine, Association of American Medical Colleges, Physicians for the
twenty-first century, Executive summary of the complete report in reference[1] above, p. 14 (Association of American Medical Colleges,Washington DC, 1984). [3] National Library of Medicine, Programs and Services, Fiscal Year 1984, (National Library of Medicine, Bethesda MD, January 1985).Availablefrom the National Technical Information Service, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161.
vii
Elsevier CPB 211GE
Guest Editorial
The Student Paper Competition in Medical Informatics at the Symposium on Computer Applications in Medical Care (SCAMC) H e l m u t h F. Orthner, Ph.D. George Washington University Medical Center
Lawrence C. K i n g s l a n d III, Ph.D. National Library of Medicine
The explosive growth of computer applications in medical care reflects the need and desire of health care professionals to increase quality and productivity in health care delivery. As computing costs decrease, computing capability becomes more widespread in a spiral which places a premium on professionals having sufficient knowledge for the effective use of this new capability. This will be especially important when 32-bit microcomputers provide desk-top mainframe capabilities and 'fifth-generation' software allows medical computer scientists to build systems that truly extend the capabilities of health care practitioners. In a few years, specialized 'physician extender' packages will be available to augment physician care. These packages will have built-in professional expertise and knowledge that makes them appear intelligent. In order to use these packages, health care professionals will find it desirable to adjust their pattern of practice. The adjustments will affect the heart of professional activity - clinical decision-making, interaction with patients, and contacts with colleagues. Medical education must change in order to prepare physicians for this new operating environment. This has been recognized by leaders in medical education. A recent report by the Panel on the General Professional Education of the Physician and College Preparation for Medicine (GPEP) established by the Association of American Medical Colleges is entitled "Physicians for the Twenty-First Century" [1]. This report calls on medical schools to "... designate an academic unit for institutional leadership in the application of information sciences and computer technology to the general professional education of physicians and promote their effective use" [2]. Several university-based medical centers have already established academic units in medical informatics and medical information science. The National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health supports through its Extramural Programs activities several programs which further the development of medical informatics and the training of professionals in this discipline [3]. Recognizing that progress in this field depends in large part on young health care professionals, computer scientists and biomedical engineers, the Board of Directors of the Symposium on Computer Applications in Medical Care (SCAMC) established in 1981 a Student Paper Competition in Medical Informatics. The purpose of the competition is to stimulate students to work in the area of computer applications in medical care and to submit papers expressing original ideas in the broad field of medical informatics. Any topic or issue which involves computer science or biomedical engineering in conjunction with health care is considered appropriate. The definition of 'student' is deliberately kept broad. All participants must be enrolled in a degree granting program of an accredited college or in an accredited residency specialty program. Students and 0169-2607/85/$03.30 © 1985 Elsevier SciencePublishers B.V. (BiomedicalDivision)
VIII
resident physicians holding earned doctorates in other fields and physicians already certified by a medical specialty board are not eligible. The participant's academic advisor, department chairman, dean or residency program director must certify that the work described in the submitted paper is substantially the work of the student participant. In recent years, 30 to 40 papers have been submitted to the competition each summer for judging. Topics have ranged from nursing care to self-care, from biomedical engineering to image processing, from computer assisted instruction to artificial intelligence. The submissions have been evaluated in two phases. In the first phase, the manuscripts are judged by a panel of independent reviewers. Critical review by this panel, with scoring for originality and innovativeness, analysis of relevant prior work, relevance of the contribution to medical informatics and the organization and clarity of the exposition, results in the narrowing of this field to no more than ten finalists based on the manuscripts alone. These ten finalists are invited to the Symposium at SCAMC expense to present their work orally during a special session. On the combined basis of the written papers and the oral presentations, including the degree of knowledge and professionalism with which the participant responded during questioning after the presentation, awardees are chosen. The winner of the Student Paper Competition in Medical Informatics receives the Martin N. Epstein Award. The winner and the second and third prize recipients receive financial awards in addition to having their expenses to attend the Symposium paid by SCAMC. The award ceremony is given a prominent place in the program of the Symposium, adding to the recognition accorded the awardees and underscoring the importance of the competition in the estimation of the Symposium organizers. This competition is made possible through the farsightedness of the SCAMC, Inc. Board of Directors and the generous donation of considerable time by a fine body of independent reviewers. The reviewers have had backgrounds in many medical specialty areas, in biomedical engineering and image analysis, in medical education, computer science, artificial intelligence and physiological modelling. The competition has in one sense come full circle, as two awardees from the first Student Paper Competition in 1981 were invited to be judges for the 1984 competition. The opinions of the reviewers are sometimes far from homogeneous, resulting in spirited discussion as the awardees are chosen. One of the authors (HFO) has been Coordinator of the Student Paper Competition in Medical Informatics since its inception in 1981. The baton is now being passed to his co-author (LCK), who will hold this position in 1985 and 1986. He can be reached through the Office of Continuing Medical Education, George Washington University Medical Center, 2300 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20037. The telephone number is (202) 676-8928.
References [1] Project Panel on the General ProfessionalEducation of the Physician and College Preparation for Medicine, Association of American Medical Colleges, Physicians for the twenty-firstcentury,J. Med. Educ. 59:11 (November1984) Part 2, 1-208. [2] Project Panel on the General ProfessionalEducation of the Physician and College Preparation for Medicine, Association of American Medical Colleges, Physicians for the
twenty-first century, Executive summary of the complete report in reference[1] above, p. 14 (Association of American Medical Colleges,Washington DC, 1984). [3] National Library of Medicine, Programs and Services, Fiscal Year 1984, (National Library of Medicine, Bethesda MD, January 1985).Availablefrom the National Technical Information Service, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161.