To Start from Scratch or to Repurpose: That is the Question

The high cost of authoring e-learning resources is a well-known problem when introducing and using virtual patients in medical schools. A method investigated by the European eViP project for reducing these expenses involves “repurposing” existing cases from a common database in order to Þ t them into new learning environments and scenarios. The goal of this study was to collect opinions on repurposing as a method of authoring educational cases. A questionnaire was sent to subject matter experts and learning technologists working on the eViP project at Jagiellonian University Medical College. The staff members had experience both in repurposing cases and creating virtual patients from scratch. A Þ ve-point scale for recording their preferences in the adaptation of virtual patients was introduced. By using open-ended questions the respondents had an opportunity to freely give their personal opinions on the pros and cons of adapted cases. For the majority of staff members polled the repurposing of existing cases was a great chance to start introducing virtual patients at a university with no previous experience in using this method of teaching. However, limitations of repurposing were also detected which consequently caused some of our specialists to prefer the creation of new cases rather than repurposing. like the EC-supported project electronic Virtual Patients (eViP) [1] build communities and technical infrastructure to facilitate the exchange of virtual patients. Since the direct transfer of virtual cases between individual institutions is often not feasible due to language, culture, technical or instructional differences, the cases are adapted to the individual needs of institutions in a process called “repurposing”. After its very promising initial phase, the process of exchange of virtual patients needs to be carefully examined to verify empirically its assumed benefits and drawbacks. Previous studies have already reported on the preliminary outcomes of different repurposing types at individual institutions [12, 19] within the eViP project. In progress are studies to compare the time efforts of repurposing virtual patients between different institutions [16]. The goal of this study was to collect opinions on repurposing as a method of authoring educational cases at Jagiellonian University Medical College, being one of the institutions involved in the eViP project. Unlike the previously mentioned studies it is not intended to touch upon the topic of measuring quantitative outcomes of the repurposing process (as e.g. time effort) or to survey students’ satisfaction with using repurposed virtual patients, but to focus on the group of people involved directly in the repurposing process. This paper presents their subjective opinions concerning the adaptation of virtual paBIO-ALGORITHMS AND MED-SYSTEMS JOURNAL EDITED BY MEDICAL COLLEGE – JAGIELLONIAN UNIVERSITY Vol. 6, No. 11, 2010, pp. 57–63