A web-based presentation of an undergraduate clinical skills curriculum

Aims The aim of this study was to use information and communications technology to present a curriculum of clinical skills in a user-friendly format. Setting A UK undergraduate medical school with a problem-based curriculum and a strong emphasis on proficiency in clinical skills. Study design Case study describing the qualitative analysis of users' requirements and development of a web-based learning portfolio. Evaluation The study involved direct observation of users during a 'think-aloud' protocol, a validated software users' measurement inventory and a 17-item questionnaire designed to test whether 'SkillsBase' met its users' requirements. Results Students wanted a clear and flexible presentation of their skills curriculum that was easy to navigate, offered instructional material and standards for self- and peer assessment, offered useful Internet links, allowed them to compare their progress with school standards and peer norms, and could be used as a learning portfolio. During the think-aloud protocol, students made very few errors in data interpretation or navigation, and found SkillsBase easy to learn and aesthetically pleasing to use. They rated it higher on all measures of usability than standard commercial software. The questionnaire showed that it met most aspects of its design specification, although many students were doubtful that they would use its reflective function. It is available for inspection at http://www.skillsbase.man.ac.uk/. Conclusions SkillsBase meets the design specification for a training and reflective aid to learning clinical skills and is very usable.