Transmission of Endoscopic Procedures from the Medical Sciences Campus to Four Institutions Simultaneously
School of Medicine Faculty Participate
at University of Scranton's Internet2 Symposium
Drs. Nerián Ortiz and Yasmín Pedrogo, from the Department of Pediatrics, presented over videoconference at the Internet2 Symposium hosted by the University of Scranton on January 17, 2007. The interactive session was also attended remotely by faculty and students at the University of St. Francis.
The purpose of this presentation was to demonstrate the use of telecommunications in teaching cultural competencies to health professionals. After a short introduction, an encounter between a Spanish-speaking patient and a physician with no skills in the Spanish language was simulated for approximately ten minutes. This exchange was first conducted all in spanish. A period of comments and feed back from the audience followed, and then the same interaction was performed, but now fully in English. The demonstration was concluded with an interactive discussion about issues related to cultural sensitivity, cultural competence and barriers to communication.
The RCMI Collaborative Technologies Activity at the University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus provided hardware and technical support for the videoconference session. Technical planning and testing for the session were performed by Connie Wisdo, Director of Technology Development and Innovation at The University of Scranton; Jennifer MacDougall, Associate Director, MAGPI GigaPoP, University of Pennsylvania; James Gerraughty, Electronic Classrooms and Video Production Manager, Center of Excellence for Remote and Medically-Underserved Areas; Raymond Rignanesi, Senior Network Administrator at Scranton; Ramón Sierra, Network Engineer, University of Puerto Rico Internet2 GigaPoP; Aníbal Vega, Systems Programmer, RCMI Collaborative Technologies Activity at the University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus, and José G. Conde, Coordinator of the Collaborative Technologies Initiative.
The University of Scranton hosted the Internet2 Symposium to demonstrate the capabilities and applications of the high-speed network. The symposium was geared toward professionals working in the fields of education, health care, museums, performing arts, bio-technology and high technology, or government agencies.
