Beginning October 2016, a new check-in system has been implemented by the Office of Medical Education using LSU ID cards. Any faculty, resident, fellow, student or staff can swipe their LSU issued ID card to record attendance at events and activities. With a quick swipe of the ID, information is captured and an employee’s name, email, and time stamp is recorded. The attendance information is saved in the system and can be accessed at any time using a web browser. This information can be quickly downloaded into an Excel spreadsheet for use in emailing attendees evaluations, attendance and management of an individual’s participation.
The system’s seamless design was created and implemented by Chris Callac, Information Management Specialist in the Office of Medical Education, to streamline the attendance process for LSU employees at LSU events. The check-in system has since become an indispensable tool for processing attendance at numerous activities on and off campus, CME and otherwise. Chris is currently continuing to develop new features, including the ability for LSU attendance integration into the New Innovations conference attendance module used by our residency programs.
The Departments of OB/GYN, Internal Medicine, Neurology, General Surgery and Plastic Surgery Grand Rounds, as well as the Center for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice (CIPECP) are using the system on a weekly basis for their CME-certified courses. Additionally, the CME Office and the Office of Medical Education has used attendance swiping system at various events such as the Dean’s Research Seminar Series, Precision Medicine Conference, and GME meetings.
ID swiping devices for the check-in system are small, inexpensive ($15- $50) and can be plugged into any laptop or device with a USB port. When an adapter is connected, these devices can also be used with phones or tablets for added mobility and convenience. Attached devices do not need to be on the LSU network to operate and can even be used from a cellular data connection. If you are interested in implementing this system for any of your activities where attendance needs to be captured, please contact the CME office at 504-568-2000. We can work with you to show you which devices will function best as well as how to use this quick and easy new way to record attendance.