Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions (06/14/22) Reed, Trent; Wagner, Sarah; Ozark, Gregory; et al.

New research investigated the use of smart glasses (SG) in Objective Structured Teaching Exercises (OSTEs) for faculty development. SG are worn as glasses and feature a computerized communicator, with a transparent screen and video camera. The six-session continuing medical education-accredited certificate course involved 17 assistant-professor physicians and one session in which participants provided feedback to a standardized student in an OSTE. The authors recorded participants on mounted wall cameras (MWCs) and SG, supplying them verbal feedback on performance based on a self-designed assessment tool. They analyzed data on the 14 physicians recorded via both MWC and with SG who also completed a poll about their SG experience. All participants expressed comfort with the standardized student wearing SG, indicating no drawbacks to communication. Eighty-five percent of participants agreed the SG offered additional feedback that the MWC could not provide, with most saying this feedback stemmed from eye contact, body language, voice inflection, and tone. Eighty-six percent considered SG valuable for faculty development, and 79% felt periodic SG use would improve the quality of their teaching. "SG can be used for faculty development on delivering feedback by enhancing clinical educator OSTE experience without causing a distraction," the authors conclude.

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