Progress

The inaugural meeting of IVIMEDS was held in June 2002 following a six month feasibility study to determine the future of the IVIMEDS proposal.  Senior academics as well as experts in technology-based learning and business attended the meeting.  The participants discussed and debated the aims and potential of IVIMEDS and at the end of the meeting enthusiastically endorsed the IVIMEDS concept.  There was agreement that IVIMEDS should be formally established and medical schools and institutions be invited to participate in its future development.

Following this IVIMEDS was registered as a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee and a Board of Directors appointed.  A small core staff team was also appointed to support developments.  The first meeting of the founding partner instituitions took place in June 2003.  Work after this meeting focussed on preparing the IVIMEDS Full Business Case and Business plan, developing the IVIMEDS technology platform and on developing a 1st generation (1G) proof of concept product in the cardiovascular system.

IVIMEDS 1G included a bank of learning objects relating to the cardiovascular system, an example of a guided learning module built up from resources in the repository, an IVIMEDS system map and virtual patients.  The proof of concept was successfully achieved and further content has since been developed in the cardiovascular system and stroke.  This content is now being integrated into teaching programmes in partner schools and undergoing evaluation by both teachers and students.
Using templates and models used in the cardiovascular system and in stroke, new content is now being developed and gathered in other subject areas including respiratory medicine, the endocrine, musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal and nervous systems.  The IVIMEDS core team are also working on the development of value added services such as an interoperable IVIMEDS map and tools to support a virtual practice and virtual patients.  The central mission of IVIMEDS is to complete work on undergraduate medical education to support undergraduate teaching in partner schools.