Summary of responses from PATSy focus group evaluations with 3^rd year Speech and Language Therapy students

Facilitator: Kathy Buckner Undertaken on: 9/12/98

Number of student participants: 30 out of 41

Generally students were very positive and appreciated the way in which the work undertaken in the PATSy system was integrated into the module in the lecture, tutorials and assessment. They found the quantity and quality of information in the case studies stimulating and relevant to their studies in college and in clinical settings. There were no major difficulties with using PATSy although time was a critical factor which limited access to information.

As a primer for tutorials.

Related to the lecture and the tutorial question. Directed to the relevant case. Use the tests to try to answer the questions, then discuss in the tutorial.

You explored the information in the cases then discussed face to face in the tutorials

Patsy helped students to gain an understanding of the tests.

Helped with understanding models of processing e.g. cog/neuro model and what tests to use.

Ties in with lectures where Carmel can refer to a particular case to explain something.

Helps you understand a particular client group - which you may not have met before.

Gives you insight into a patient - theory into practice - useful as the module is very theory based.

Makes you think a lot more about a patient - helps with problem solving.

Tests in PATSy helped the students understand how they were applied.

Students have to use the tests in PATSy in conjunction with the test manual from the resource library. The tests on Patsy give the student very good information about the tests, although the students recognised that there is more information in the full paper version of the tests - particularly in relation to validity and interpretation of results. Can go from the test manual and back to PATSy to try something again. Students didn’t mind having to use the test manuals as they felt that this was what they would have to use in the real world e.g. in clinic. Some students didn’t spend as much time with the manuals because of the time taken to use the system. Others felt it saved time - in relation to use of the library - helped you to understand the tests and how they are used.

Too little visual/auditory input

Mostly of the face - couldn’t always see the non-verbal cues

Suggested having Cinderella test on video for the case - would be easier to access (via the Web) than videotape.

Introductory video could be longer - provides more information about the patient; gives non-verbal cues: frustration; immobility.

Video too short - about 2 minutes - suggested 5 minutes.

Quality was good

Sound, mostly OK though some was a bit muffled, some users didn’t know how to adjust the volume.

Would like to be able to enlarge the video screen.

In test with pictures - the pictures are too large - can’t see all the pictures without scrolling up after pressing "reveal".

Audio clips -

Each audio segment opens a new audio window - these have to be closed individually and eventually having too many open audio windows interferes with the operation of Patsy. Having an automatic close option would be useful.

Audio is useful for intonation. Some didn’t use the audio at all. Quality was good.

Having to work through all of the results to find the patient errors was frustrating and time consuming. Some students didn’t understand how to get to the summaries until late in the course - some who did would still like to be able to reveal the specific errors (without administering the tests) - so that they could try to identify patterns within the test responses. The students would like to be able to get all the summary information + the associated data automatically.

Most students would prefer to have some way of "revealing" the answers for the whole test automatically. A page of test responses took a long time to reveal individually and did not stay "revealed" if you went onto the next page (some students printed out all the revealed results). A suggestion is to get the student to reveal the first 5 responses to a test individually, then have a method for revealing the rest of the answers automatically. Some students felt that once you had done a particular test with one patient it was a waste of time to go through the procedure of looking at how to do that test with another patient. The responses rather than the test procedure became more important.

Interpretation of test results could be incorporated which would relieve some of the pressure on the resource library.

Technical support tutorials - problem solving; printing; saving - they were shown this but need the help when things go wrong.

Improving scrolling - ability to save/see different amounts on the screen.

Time:

Each case took 2-3 hours to look at. Some students printed everything they could to take away and to save "hogging" the machine - this took about 15-20 minutes per case. Guilt prevented some students printing off all the test results - they would copy out information from the screen. Students suggested a case related tutorial every other week (with a lecture related tutorial in between) to allow a longer period of time to prepare and look at the relevant material.

Helps in placement with patients - particularly in clinics where it gives the student more confidence.

Could help in planing patient assessment.

Helps in developing hypothesis.

Helps you feel more confident - doing a test in PATSy rather than with a real patient. Can repeat the test.

Other modules where it might be useful:
Dr Pentland’s course on neurology e.g. for Parkinson’s patients.

Child cases would be useful.

Would be useful for stammering, cleft palette or other cases which aren’t seen too often in clinic.

Pacs assessment

Larsp analysis

Phonological dictation - transcription and interpretation on screen - in development disorders for speech and language (2^nd year)

Need to book; could stay late on Mondays and use it.

Would like access from home but this was not permitted for ethical reasons - however this would relieve pressure on College resources.

Sometimes difficult to book. Had to work on own - difficult to work in pairs - particularly in relation to what Carmel is seeing via the monitoring.

Access via IT centre would have helped.

Some difficulty in printing from a particular machine at the beginning.

There is a need to have a technical person on call to sort out technical difficulties

Only certain days/times of the week when the library can be accessed.

Gives information on all the tests that you have accessed. Would be useful to be able to print out your own thoughts or recordings separately from the test results. Some people didn’t use the log at all - they wrote out long hand or printed off test results instead.

Some student found it frustrating that they couldn’t amend (edit) their own personal log entries. Carmel had explained that it was designed this way to enable students to review thought processes.

It might be useful to separate student entries from the test results in the student log and allow each aspect to be printed separately.

Project team’s comments: Students are missing the point of the logs here. The logs are a way of keeping track of what a user is thinking about what s/he observes and allows both the student and tutor to see how the student arrived at his/her conclusion about the patient’s problem (i.e. diagnosis and identification of the problem). Separating the log entries from the tests (as suggested) would de-contextualise the student’s assessments. Every comment made by a student is in response to some judgement about what the students has seen in a test, the medical history etc…this relationship has to be maintained in the logs. The enforced reflection is deliberate and an attempt to encourage metacognitive activity on students part - the idea is to tilt students away from 'profile' or 'pattern' matching based on test score summary tables, towards more theory or hypothesis — driven approach to assessment of the patient.

Privileged to use Patsy.

4^th years were envious of current 3^rd years.

The cases were very interesting.

Can enable all students to see a range of cases and use a range of tests (which they might not see in clinic)

PATSy - a bit like a simulator - the patient doesn’t suffer.

Makes you think about the patient as "your" client.