As the healthcare environment becomes more digital and mobile, medical students must be ready with innovative technologies and devices that prepare them for medical practice and inspire them to solve the problems that challenge our healthcare environment.
We have provided iPads to every student for our medical education program, which prepares students to care for patients throughout Washington state.
student iPads currently deployed.
of students reported being satisfied or very satisfied with their access to online learning resources, according to a 2026 college survey.
online clinical skills assessment forms requested of preceptors by students in AY 25-26 (approximately 71 forms per student).
The iPad helps us provide equitable access to compelling medical education content and allows for an easy transition from our classroom-based pre-clinical education session to our community-based clinical programs.
We leverage JAMF to customize the iPad experience by pushing custom content like in-house created ebooks, specific medical education apps, and web links to relevant online resources. We also utilize JAMF Self Service for a customizable catalog of applications.
With the guidance of faculty facilitators and collaboration with peers, students explore various core concepts that integrate the clinical and foundational sciences while considering contextual factors that impact patient care and outcomes. We work together with our curriculum team to create cases in ebook format, fostering engagement and collaboration among students and faculty.
An example of a case involving Washington residents:
The fictional town of Wesford, Washington with 40,000 residents has a small hospital, which is in stark contrast with the resources of a larger city like Spokane.
Case writers created nine different fictional patients with a range of backgrounds—from five-month-old Gabriel Cruz, who has feeding difficulties, to Frances Plouman, an 88-year-old woman, who is in for a checkup—and each of whom the students saw for multiple visits.
Students take two different types of exams, which utilize iPads differently:
iPads are used to collect feedback in real time. The structured forms provide feedback on specific skills and knowledge and take less than five minutes to complete. A physician or other member of the care team reviews and discusses the feedback with the student to facilitate growth.
We have collected more than 1 million discrete data points from or about our students’ learning and experiences so far, which helps us meet the unique challenges that come with a community-based medical school.
Our faculty create amazing content, and the iPads allow us to create a cohesive curriculum, which is easier for the students to master.
Dr. Henry Mroch uses the tool Explain Everything to develop his highly popular “Nephlix” series of videos on nephrology. Dr. Mroch describes the iPad as having “transformed delivery of challenging, integrative concepts in a user-friendly platform. Implementing the flipped classroom created a gap with the traditional classroom experience. The iPad became the flexible bridge traversing that divide. Audio and visual learners alike can benefit from chalkboard-like lectures with voiceover capability.
“I am a huge fan of the iPad in medical education. If the iPad were available in the mid-1400s, then it is likely Gutenberg would have approved.”
“We need to inspire a diverse group of youth into healthcare professions that serve our communities. The iPads help deliver engaging education experiences for our outreach and mentorship programs.”
— Jessica Gerdes, Outreach and Mentorship
We’re committed to helping create positive outcomes in the health of Washington State communities with our iPad Initiative.
It means that Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine is a center of leadership, educational excellence, and one of the most innovative schools in the world. We have a clear vision of how using iPads in conjunction with our all-digital curriculum can inspire students, enrich our faculty and staff, and support healthy communities.
