SMARTDRAW IN MEDICINE:

Creating Coursework Materials with SmartDraw's Medical Symbol Collection

In Search of a Remedy
Virginia Rogers, a medical technologist and instructor at St. Elizabeth's Hospital, was looking for good clip art for her classes. She was teaching college seniors the basics of urology, hematology, and phlebotomy, and she needed a way to draw diagrams quickly and easily. The students were completing nine-month internships at the hospital, and expected a professional level of teaching.

"I'm always trying to stay one step ahead of my students," said Ms. Rogers. "I've found that passing out handouts can be very helpful, but I like to show them things, instead of just passing out text. They say a picture is worth a thousands WORD^®s, and it's true—especially in teaching!"

Ms. Rogers was completing some of her coursework in other programs, but they didn't give her access to all the medical symbols she was looking for. She often turned to Microsoft PowerPoint^® to make her handouts.

"PowerPoint is a good program, but I couldn't get all the graphics I needed," said Ms. Rogers. "To make a red blood cell, I would start with a graphic of a balloon. Needless to say, it didn't look very realistic!"

Ms. Rogers needed to draw everything from anemia and bodily fluid charts to a diagram of veins and arteries in the arm. It got to the point when using other programs was just too difficult.

"I started looking for a program with good clip art, but all of the collections were limited, and so expensive," said Ms. Rogers. "I found one from the U.K. but it was $500. I didn't have that kind of money to spend."

The Prognosis
Ms. Rogers found SmartDraw online, and quickly examined its collection of symbols.

"As soon as I saw what SmartDraw had to offer, I got really excited," said Ms. Rogers. "The graphics were so nice…and there were just so many of them."

SmartDraw's searchable library has thousands of symbols and templates. Included are numerous images in the Medical & Anatomy section, including graphics for emergency, nursing, and pediatrics. The anatomy section features more than 30 subsets, including cardiac, hematology, and circulatory system—the very things Ms. Rogers was looking for. Graphics of red blood cells, anemia, and veins were suddenly at her fingertips, allowing her to quickly insert them into her diagrams.

"I couldn't believe the breadth and quality of all of the clip art," said Ms. Rogers. "I was so surprised, and kept finding new images. I was like, wow—they have this too?"

SmartDraw's intuitive "drag and drop" mechanism allows users to quickly select the graphic they are looking for, and drag it into their diagram in a matter of seconds. All it takes is a couple of clicks.

Online tutorials also help users through more complex tasks, eliminating the need for extensive study of the program.

"I knew that this product would help me get my work done really quickly—with professional-looking results," said Ms. Rogers.

The Right Medicine
"I'm using the software a few times a week to create various visual aids for the students," said Ms. Rogers. "Having access to so many great symbols makes it easy."

The program has helped her be more selective with her handouts, so her students don't get too bogged down with paperwork.

"A picture can be so much more descriptive than pages of text," said Ms. Rogers. "It keeps my students from getting overwhelmed."

SmartDraw's expanded selection of medical symbols, ease-of-use, and professional-looking results are a welcome addition to her teaching process. According to Ms. Rogers, SmartDraw helps her get the job done faster and better than ever before.

"I am so happy with the results," said Ms. Rogers. "It's such a great program. I'm so glad I found it!"