Innovation at U.S. Medical Schools: A Multiple Case Study of Leaders' Perceptions of Educational Technology

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to better understand the implementation of educational technology in selected medical schools. This study utilized Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovation theory to investigate the perspectives of educational technology leaders at four different medical schools in the United States. In the coming years, healthcare in the United States will experience shortages of primary care physicians because of population growth, longer life expectancies, and changes in insurance coverage due to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). To address the need to produce a greater number of physicians, innovative approaches to both recruitment and education are needed. Educational technology has the potential to significantly increase access to healthcare professionals, especially physicians. The methods of data collection included two sets of interviews, document analysis, and a short questionnaire. The interviews were transcribed and coded and through comparative analysis, themes were developed. The four participants, all of whom held positions in the deans’ office, were heavily involved in the implementation at their respective medical institutions. All the participants were considered to be innovators with respect to Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovations. The major themes established in this study: outside influencing change in the organization, organizations and change, and individuals and change were developed through analysis of the data.