Development and Evaluation of a European Internet Mediated Educational Training Programme

The recent evolution of the Internet has facilitated a growth in the number of online distance learning courses, perceived benefits of which include the opportunity to communicate and collaborate at a distance and the flexibility to learn anytime and anywhere. These technological advances have coincided with a growing requirement for structured postgraduate training. To explore the potential for internet-based postgraduate training in neonatology an online educational programme for junior doctors working in Europe was developed by a transnational planning team directed by M.H. from the UK. Summative evaluation was prospectively planned, integrated throughout and undertaken by an experienced external educational technology specialist (G.C., UK). Four training modules covered the following topics: The Neonatal Central Nervous System (module developed by G.G., Denmark), Neonatal Sepsis (C.C., Greece), Outcome Evaluation for Neonatal Conditions (N.M., UK), and Neonatal Respiratory Diseases (A.S., Germany). The learning material was available on CD ROM and on the webside. In addition, the webside provided a virtual learning environment which delivered the interactive courses on each module during four -week periods. All authors tutored all four courses online for small groups of trainees during that time. The evaluation showed that the trainees had benefited from the course and expressed a wish to participate in similar courses in the future. Consistent themes that emerged from the evaluation included the value and importance of the online community, collaborative learning and the opportunity to discuss best practice. Trainees improved their knowledge and demonstrated their ability to apply it to clinical scenarios and small group projects. However, a key issue was a lack of „protected“ time to dedicate to the programme and, for some, access to the appropriate technology precluded participation. Trainees whose first language was not English also experienced difficulties. The project demonstrates the potential for collaborative internet-mediated learning in neonatology. It will resume online training in the near future with supplemental modules on Neonatal Nutrition, Early Cardio-Respiratory Management in VLBW Infants, and Medical Ethics.