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. 2024 Jun 27;13(1):368-379.
doi: 10.5334/pme.1223. eCollection 2024.

Rapid Design of a Student-Centred App for Musculoskeletal Clinical Skills: An Example of a Theoretically Informed Approach to Developing Apps for Learning

Tehmina Gladman  1 , Henry Li  1 , Oliver McCullough  1 , Rebecca Grainger  1
Affiliations

Rapid Design of a Student-Centred App for Musculoskeletal Clinical Skills: An Example of a Theoretically Informed Approach to Developing Apps for Learning

Tehmina Gladman et al. Perspect Med Educ. .

Abstract

Background and need for innovation: The process to design mobile apps for learning are infrequently reported and focus more on evaluation than process. This lack of clear process for health professional education mobile apps may explain the lack of quality mobile apps to support medical student learning.

Goal of innovation: The goal of this project was to develop a student informed ready for production wireframe model of a minimally viable mobile app to support learning of musculoskeletal (MSK) clinical skills.

Steps taken for development and implementation of innovation: The Information Systems Research (ISR) framework and Design Thinking were combined for the mobile app design. The process followed the cycles and modes of the combined framework to; systematically review available apps, use a focus group to identify attributes of the app valued by students, define the initial plan for the mobile app, develop an app prototype, and test and refine it with students.

Outcomes of innovation: The student focus group data had five themes: 1) interactive usability, 2) environment, 3) clear and concise layout, 4) anatomy and pathology, 5) cultural safety and 'red flags'. The prototyping of the app went through three cycles of student review and improvement to produce a final design ready for app development.

Critical reflection on our process: We used a student-centred approach guided by design frameworks to design a minimally viable product mobile app to support learning of MSK clinical skills in ten weeks with a small team. The framework supported nonlinear, iterative, rapid prototyping. Student data converged and diverged with the MSK teaching methods literature. Of note our students requested cultural safety learning in the app design, suggesting mobile apps could support cultural safety learning.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no competing interests to declare.

Figures

A three-sided figure with double-headed arrows between each of the three boxes at the apexes. Each box contains text describing the three main steps plus sub steps
Figure 1
Combining the Information Systems Research (ISR) Framework with Design Thinking [57].
A three by two table with a total of six screenshots of mobile app screens
Figure 2
From top left to bottom right: Home page, Menu, OSCE testing, Forums, Full guides & Diagnostic tool.
Three by Two table with 3 screenshots of mobile app in top row and four screenshots of mobile app in bottom row showing updated app design
Figure 3
From top left to bottom right: updated home page, updated menu, OSCE testing with badging removed, added presenting scenarios, updated full guides with table of contents, final version of diagnostic tool with diagnostic sieve and location management.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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