Facilitating Change and Continuous Improvement at the UBC Faculty of Medicine
Educational Technology Highlights for
2024-2025
The Digital Solutions for Education: Edtech portfolio facilitates efforts by faculty and learners to enhance the educational experience of developing healthcare providers through innovative approaches.
We had a very successful year in 2024-25. Working collaboratively with our partners, we were able to have a positive impact on the Faculty’s societal and educational goals to transform health for everyone.
CONTINUOUS QUALITY IMPROVEMNTS
EdTech supported continuous evaluation and refinement to improve educational quality and impact.
LEARNING INNOVATION
EdTech facilitated integration of innovative learning approaches to address programmatic challenges.
Driving Change Through Continuous Quality Improvement
Improving Strategic Engagement in the Department of Medicine
The Department of Medicine’s five-year strategic plan, Transforming Health Together: 2023-2027, outlines priorities to strengthen clinical care, research, education, and organizational culture. With COVID limiting in-person engagement, introducing the plan across the Department was a challenge. EdTech produced a video featuring Dr. Anita Palepu that showcased the plan’s vision and achievements.
DID YOU KNOW?
The video received over 4,000 views on YouTube and the Department website, confirming strong engagement and increasing access to the plan.
Expanding Faculty Mentorship Through Layered Learning
Layered learning enables medical learners and clinical preceptors to learn, teach, and work together in real time. Preceptors sought guidance to integrate this model into community-based clinical teaching settings. In response, UBC Faculty Development and EdTech co-created a five-part video series, informed by interviews and workshops with preceptors, learners, residents, administrators, and patient partners. The series offers evidence-based strategies that are being integrated into family medicine and rural clerkship courses.
The Impact in Numbers
Redesigning Online Learning Spaces for Undergraduate Medical Students
Undergraduate medical learners and instructors reported challenges navigating online learning communities in Entrada, our learning management system. To ensure consistency and clarity, the Undergraduate Systems Administration Team collaborated with EdTech to improve the usability and access to these online learning spaces. The redesign introduced a cohesive structure and graphics that enable learners and instructors to find information and engage with course materials quickly and efficiently.
Click arrows to compare Before and After
Addressing Healthcare Professional Shortages in British Columbia
To support internationally educated occupational therapists to achieve Canadian certification, the Department of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy partnered with EdTech to design a preparatory program. Launched in September 2025 with 8 participants, the Program for Internationally Educated Occupational Therapists delivered over 60 lecture videos across 11 modules, covering Canadian healthcare, cultural awareness, and clinical knowledge. The first cohort gave a 100% “would recommend” rating, signaling strong learner satisfaction and helping build a pipeline of occupational therapists for underserved communities in British Columbia.
Piloting Virtual Reality-Based Clinical Simulation Across Multiple Sites
Building on positive student feedback from the first virtual reality case, EdTech piloted a 30-minute virtual reality (VR) neurology case for Year 1 learners across all four distributed sites (VFMP, IMP, SMP, and NMP). This experience allowed learners to practice history taking, physical examination, and clinical thinking skills before entering the clinical environment. Learner feedback and reports continue to show high engagement and strong interest in expanding innovative approaches to learning simulations.
The Impact in Numbers
Supporting Innovation in Educational Solutions
Enhancing Diagnostic Imaging Learning and Educator Effectiveness for Undergraduate Medical Learners
When the New York University (NYU) electrocardiogram training app was retired, UBC learners risked losing valuable educational opportunities. Faculty instructors risked losing an important feedback mechanism that enabled them to improve their teaching in a targeted way. EdTech recreated the app in a secure UBC environment, adding X-Ray and other imaging options while improving the interface and analytics based on learner feedback. Now used by the full Year 3 cohort, the app connects learning activities to performance data, helping instructors support student success.
Newly redesigned dashboard which improves navigation and usability
Leveraging AI capabilities to Support Personalized Learning in Clinical Education
As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more embedded in medical education, learners and faculty have been looking for safe and effective ways to integrate it into their learning and teaching. To explore this potential, EdTech piloted various AI tools within existing learning modules, implementing features such as personalized feedback, assessment support, and clinical skills practice. Feedback from learners and instructors showed a clear need for AI tools that are trustworthy, ethical, and respectful of privacy.
committing to Antiracism in Healthcare
Postgraduate medical education (PGME) accreditation standards emphasize the need for impactful anti-racism training. In partnership with the Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, EdTech produced 5 animated videos, blending expert interviews, lived experiences, and case-based scenarios to demonstrate the impacts of racism in healthcare. We also supported the creation of engaging learning modules that will be used as part of training. Set for deployment across PGME in 2026, the videos offer a clinically relevant, learner-centered tool that uniquely engages residents while advancing equity-focused education.
We would like to thank our partners for the opportunity to work together!
