What influences trainees involvement with e-learning in respiratory medicine

Roberts, Nicola Jane; Smith, Sue F.; Partridge, Martyn R.

Abstract

Background: Although respiratory e-learning has been shown to be as good as traditional methods at facilitating knowledge transfer in medical undergraduates, it is not always their preferred choice of teaching method.1 Among postgraduate respiratory trainees there may be less interest in e-learning in the UK compared with other European countries.2

Methods: This study investigated postgraduate trainees’ (F1 and F2) and specialist registrars’ (SpR) e-awareness, their preferred learning styles and their willingness to embrace e-learning in respiratory medicine teaching. All were required to attend regular seminars in respiratory medicine. One week prior to a specific seminar they were asked to study e-learning modules in respiratory medicine (four modules: “diagnosis of respiratory disease”, “respiratory emergencies”, “lung cancer” and “asthma”). At the subsequent session, participants completed questionnaires on their learning styles and on the e-modules.

Results: 44 trainees and SpR participated in the study (F1  =  17, F2  =  15, SpR  =  12; 14 men, 30 women; mean age 27 years). Approximately half were Imperial College graduates and most had studied in the UK. 25/44 (58%) had minimal or no previous exposure to e-learning. Most (86%) had access to the internet (38/44) at home and 17/44 (39%) used the internet for education purposes three to four times a week. Most (95%) stated their preferred teaching source to be face to face contact with a teacher. More than half (61%) scored highly for collaborative learning styles. Very few participants (34%) had used any of the e-learning modules before their training session (15/44). There was no correlation between previous exposure to current or previous e-learning use and personal learning style.

Conclusions: This study suggests that there is a low usage of E respiratory modules by postgraduate trainee and such modules need to be firmly embedded within training schedules to ensure maximal participation. Trainees have a diversity of experiences and their opinions and approaches to e-learning cannot be predicted from learning style questionnaires.

Citation

Roberts, N. J., Smith, S. F., & Partridge, M. R. (2008). What influences trainees involvement with e-learning in respiratory medicine. Thorax, 63(suppl 7), S7

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Abstract
• Conference Name: British Thoracic Society winter meeting
• Online Publication Date: Dec 1, 2008
• Publication Date: 2008-12
• Deposit Date: Aug 3, 2023
• Print ISSN: 0040-6376
• Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 63
• Issue: suppl 7
• Pages: S7
• Series ISSN: 1468-3296
• Publisher URL: https://thorax.bmj.com/content/63/Suppl_7/A156