Dr Christine Hammond Gabbadon

Unit Planning for the Integration of Technology

Section 1
Content Area: Medical Sciences/Child Health
Unit Title: Introduction to Child and Adolescent Health
Name of Course/Programme Level: Child and Adolescent Health/Doctor of Medicine (DM) Family
Medicine
Unit Summary:
Family physicians have the unique opportunity to treat all members of the family including children. This
unit is part of the Child and Adolescent Health course which seeks to enhance the Family Physicians
expertise in the early identification and management of medical problems in children and to refer to other
specialists where necessary. The communication skills unit seeks to equip family physicians with the skills
necessary to talk to parents and children while taking a complete paediatric and adolescent history.
The ADDIE Model of Instructional design was used to plan the Unit as follows:
Analysis: a needs analysis revealed that DM Family Medicine residents in their first year need to be aware
of the communication needs of parents and children prior to beginning their first paediatric rotation when
these skills will be put into practice. The unit will be conducted in a classroom setting using interactive
methods such as role playing to achieve the broad goal of effective communication and will integrate
technology in the teaching methods.
Design: The design phase included the formulation of themes and focus questions geared towards
developing the necessary skills at the postgraduate level. The unit will be taught over six sessions and will
consist of 6 lessons of 2 hours each. Each lesson will consist of a didactic component using technology
(PowerPoint and/ or Prezi) followed by a practical exercise of role playing and/or student presentations
and group activities. At the end of each lesson will be a minute paper exercise and muddiest point exercise
shared via a closed Facebook page and Twitter. Assessment will be a combination of formative,
continuous and summative assessments including a clicker quiz and portfolio assignment of a health
surveillance visit including a taped (audio) consultation.
Development: The development phase includes detailed lesson plans and development of presentation
materials utilizing technology such as PowerPoint, Prezi, Twitter and Youtube.
Implementation: This follows the design phase and each lesson will be conducted as outlined in the
lesson plan utilizing technology.
Evaluation: The unit will be evaluated using Kirkpatricks Four- Level Model of Evaluation (reaction,
learning, behavior, results). At the end of each lesson residents will be asked to complete a minute paper
and muddiest point via Twitter. They will also be asked to complete a short anonymous 5 minute paper
evaluation. Residents will also be asked to include their reflections on the unit in their e-portfolios which
will assist with the evaluation of the unit.
Primary interdisciplinary connections:
Community Health, Communication, Paediatrics, Psychology
Themes/Focus Questions:
-What is health communication and why is it important?
-What is the importance of verbal and non-verbal communication between doctor and patient?
-What are the barriers to effective communication?
-What are the stages of cognitive development in children and how do the stages influence their
understanding of health and well-being?
-What are the essential elements of a paediatric and adolescent histories?

Dr Christine Hammond Gabbadon

Unit Rationale:
Effective communication between physicians, parents and children is necessary for the taking of a
paediatric history, which is one of the first steps in the medical management of the child. The Doctor of
Medicine (DM) Programme of the Department of Community Health and Psychiatry at the University of
the West Indies prepares Family Medicine specialists to manage the whole family, including the children
and the elderly. Effective communication is necessary at all levels of interaction with the family,especially
where young children are involved, since their stage of development necessitates that the caregiver or
parent be able to give a complete history of the childs medical complaint. In many cases, the young child
can relate important information if the correct techniques are applied when interviewing the young patient.
It has been said that in most cases a diagnosis can be made on history alone and the rest on examination
and/or investigations. History taking and examination remain at the very core of clinical practice. Parents
and children may vary widely in their ability to communicate, from the neonates subtle signs to the
teenager who may be able to communicate as an adult. The childs account is often just as important as the
adults. On the other hand, many adults, depending on the cultural context may be ineffective
communicators due to language and other barriers.
It is intended that the unit on Communication Skills in Child Health will increase awareness in Family
Physicians of the importance and need for developing competence in this area of medical practice.
Reference:
Retrieved from: http://patient.info/doctor/history-and-physical-examination
Retrieved from: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/kirkpatrick.htm

Section 2
Learning/Attainment Targets (Broad goals)

Related Content (write brief content statements)

1. Communication skills

Learn the difference between verbal and nonverbal communication and identify the barriers
to effective communication

2. Childhood Development

Understand how childrens age and cognitive

development influence their understanding of
health and well-being

3:The Paediatric and Adolescent histories

Identify the elements of the paediatric and

adolescent histories

4. Monitoring and surveillance in child health

Identify the role of the family physician in health

surveillance of the child

Section 3

Content Statement
/ Topic #
1

Related Lesson
1 and 2

2, 5 and 6

3 and 4

5 and 6

Dr Christine Hammond Gabbadon

Lesson #

Specific Objectives (Measurable terms)

At the end of this lesson students will be able to

1.Introduction and -Outline the objectives of the unit and the assessment procedures.
Stages of
-Identify and apply Piagets stages of cognitive development to the assessment
Cognitive
of the child
Development
2. Basic
communication
skills

-Identify verbal communication skills in the interview with parents and

children
-Identify non-verbal communication skills in the interview with parents and
children
--Identify barriers to effective communication with parents and children
-Identify methods to overcome barriers to communication

3. The paediatric
history

-List and explain the elements of the paediatric history

-Identify the differences between the adult and paediatric history
-Take an effective paediatric history

4. The adolescent
history

-Explain the principles of adolescent health care delivery

-Communicate with adolescents and their parents
--Take a comprehensive history from an adolescent

5. Monitoring
developmental
stages in children

-List the development stages of childhood

-Name the principles of brain development
-Identify red flags in childhood development

6. Health and
Development
Surveillance and
monitoring

-Differentiate methods used in health and development monitoring

-Identify the different facets of development
-Describe the components of child health surveillance

Specific Objective/
Related Content #

Technology Integration

Required Resources & Equipment

PowerPoint/Prezi presentation,
Twitter/Instagram feedback

Laptop with speaker projector

Powerpoint/Prezi, YouTube video,

Twitter/Instagram feedback

Laptop with speaker projector

Wifi/internet connection

Powerpoint/Prezi, YouTube video

presentation on barriers to
communication, Twitter, Instagram

Laptop with speaker projector

Wifi/internet connection

Powerpoint/Prezi on elements of the

paediatric history, Twitter/Instagram

Laptop with speaker projector

Wifi/internet connection

Section 4
General Learning Outcomes (Attainment Targets)
At the end of the course of study students will

Dr Christine Hammond Gabbadon

-Identify the stages of cognitive development in children

-Develop basic communication skills and identify the barriers to effective communication
-Differentiate the methods used in health and development surveillance and monitoring
-Take a detailed Paediatric History
-Take an adolescent historyf Learning
Formative Assessment

Role playing during case scenarios in class

Contribution to group discussions and Facebook group

Minute paper exercise using Twitter

Muddiest point exercise using Twitter

Continuous Assessment:
At the end of each lesson:

Summative Assessments
Clicker test on last day of unit- 25 short answer questions: 25%
Live OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examination) demonstrating history taking using case
scenarios: 50%
Portfolio of child health surveillance visit including recorded interview: 25%

Section 5
Lesson
Lesson 1
Introduction and Stages of Cognitive
Development
Lesson 2
Basic communication skills

Timeframe
2 hours:1hr lecture, 45 min activity, 15 min
feedback
2 hours:1hr lecture, 45 min activity, 15 min
feedback

Lesson 3
The paediatric history
Lesson 4
The adolescent history
Lesson 5
Monitoring developmental stages in children
Lesson 6
Health and Development Surveillance and
monitoring

2 hours:1hr lecture, 45 min activity, 15 min

feedback
2 hours:1hr lecture, 45 min activity, 15 min
feedback
2 hours:1hr lecture, 45 min activity, 15 min
feedback
2 hours:1hr lecture, 45 min activity, 15 min
feedback

Teachers Notes
Technological Resource:
1.Laptop
2.Projector
3. Screen
4.Internet connectivity/wifi
5.Social media account (YouTube, Facebook,
Twitter etc.
6. Clickers

Instructions for Use:

The instructor will prepare each lesson using
Powerpoint, Prezi or Google slides. The resource
equipment will be utilized according to the user
manuals. The instructor will have a social media
account to which students will be invited to join for
responses to be posted. Clickers will be the property
of the university and utilized where available for
student responses to mini class quizzes.