Readings in Distance Education Number 8 Distance Education in the Health Sciences Edited by Michael G. Moore and Joseph T. Savrock Released October 2001

Abstracts

A Historical Overview of Telecommunications in the Health Care Industry
   Joseph S. Anderson

Rapid advances in health care and related technology have mandated staff development through continuing education programs for health care professionals. Consumers expect competent, knowledgeable practitioners. Administrators conscious of costs, particularly for nonrevenue-producing programs such as staff development, are acutely interested in the return on their investment. Therefore, the critical factor in the determination and selection of a specific program and medium in which it is presented relates to its impact on practice. The task of providing cost-effective continuing education to institutionally based personnel is further complicated by triple shifts, rotating shift practices, and part-time personnel. In such a setting, it is necessary to develop a flexible format to meet the needs of adult learners, given their assigned patient load, working hours, and unanticipated emergencies. If a program is to be effective, therefore, it must be readily accessible in the workplace, available whenever employees’ workloads permit, and be of limited duration. In short, the learner must have some control of the scheduling.

Distance Education by Interactive Videoconferencing in a Family Practice Residency Center
  Orlando F. Mills, James F. Bates, Vicki Pendleton, Kathleen Lese, and Michael Tatarko

Interactive videoconference technology may be a useful adjunct in family practice residency education by expanding the number of lectures available for residents. In this study, live videoconferences were arranged between the Johnstown (Pennsylvania) family practice residency and other sites. Participants completed standard evaluation forms, and both technical and educational quality were evaluated by quantitative and qualitative analysis. Thirty videoconferences were conducted and 382 evaluation forms were analyzed. Overall, the quality was good. In the best conferences, there was good sound and video, and speakers gave clear handouts in advance and used slides that were not overly wordy or complicated. The worst conferences suffered from poor sound or video transmission.

Telemedicine for Patient Education
  David L. Byers, Jr., Cheryl Hilgenberg, and Dent M. Rhodes

A telemedicine project was conducted to explore the delivery of childbirth preparation classes originating at a large regional hospital to a remote site at a small rural hospital. Over six months, three series of classes were included in the project, with twenty-four participants at the originating site and twenty participants at the remote site. A two-way, audio/video teleconferencing system with multiple cameras and monitors was employed for instruction. A registered nurse taught the class and a site facilitator assisted at the remote site. Evaluation of the project was done through surveys, interviews, and observations. The classes were well received by project participants at both sites. Principal advantages cited were increased availability of the programs, improved attendance, and convenience to rural participants. The principal disadvantages cited focused on technical problems, particularly audio quality.

Student Perceptions of Satisfaction and Opportunities for Critical Thinking in Distance Education by Interactive Video
  Cheryl Hilgenberg and William Tolone

Critical thinking is an important component of learning, yet it has received little attention in distance education literature. The purpose of this study was to investigate graduate students’ satisfaction and perception of opportunities for critical thinking in distance education courses that utilized a two-way audio/video system.

Transactional Distance and Interactive Television in the Distance Education of Health Professionals
  Whitney Rogers Bischoff, Sarah W. Bisconer, Barbara M. Kooker, and Lanell C. Woods

Distance education, in which learners are remote from the primary educational institution and the teacher, is increasingly delivered via interactive television technology. Moore (1980) described transactional distance between students and faculty in distance education as characterized by dialogue and structure. He hypothesized that high structure and low dialogue yield “remote” transactional distance and low structure and high dialogue yield “close” transactional distance. The variables in the current study were operationally defined following Moore (1973, 665): “A learner’s ‘distance’ from his teacher [transactional distance] ... is defined as a function of individualization [structure] and dialogue.” Student volunteers (n = 221) in thirteen public health and nursing graduate courses at the University of Hawaii at Manoa responded to an investigator-developed questionnaire regarding elements of dialogue, structure, and transactional distance in their courses. Principal components and internal consistency reliability analyses verified the presence of three factors: structure, dialogue, and transactional distance. Dialogue was greater in the distance-format courses than in the traditional-format courses. Distance-format courses did not differ from traditional courses on amount of structure or transactional distance.

Use of Interactive Television for Outreach Nursing Education
  Marilyn B. Major and Donea L. Shane

Outreach education provides an opportunity for students located far from universities to pursue higher education. Nursing schools across the United States have utilized outreach education to provide working registered nurses (RNs) with a means to obtain the bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) degree. The University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM) and the University of New Mexico (UNM) have used this approach to deliver courses to RNs living in remote communities. In the UNM RN-BSN completion program, students receive a BSN degree. At UHM, the RN students are awarded a BS degree with a specialty in nursing. In this article, the terms RN-BSN completion program refer to all RN-completion programs leading to a bachelor’s degree. This article describes the combined experiences of these two schools and discusses the characteristics, benefits, drawbacks, faculty/student implications, and unresolved issues.

Persistence in a Distance Learning Program: A Case in Pharmaceutical Education
  Nancy F. Fjortoft

A survey instrument was designed and administered to a population of currently enrolled and drop-out adult students in a post-baccalaureate doctor of pharmacy program taught at a distance. The data from the survey was used to test a predictive model developed to examine the parameters of adult student persistence in distance learning programs. The independent variables in the model were significant in predicting persistence (F = 5.670, DF = 8,151, p < .0001) and explained 23% of the variance in persistence. Intrinsic benefits, age, and level of student ease or comfort with individual learning were significant factors.

Student Support via Audio Teleconferencing: Psycho-Educational Workshops for Post-Bachelor Nursing Students
  Vivian Lalande

Although the provision of student services for distance learners is recognized as critical, the development of effective services for distance learners has been minimal. This paper will provide an overview of a recently initiated project designed to provide student services via audio teleconferencing to a population of Post-R.N. Bachelor of Nursing students at the University of Calgary. A series of psycho-educational workshops was developed to ease the transitions first to the distant student role and then back to the role of worker. These workshops were implemented and evaluated in terms of both process and content. Evaluation results indicated that the teleconference delivery of psycho-educational workshops is effective in providing support services to distance students.

The Pros and Cons of Web-Based Distance Education in Nursing
  Susan M. Jacob

Most studies comparing nursing students enrolled in a Web-based course with those in a classroom-based course have shown performance to be about the same. However, there are various pros and cons that a student nurse should consider prior to enrolling in a distance education course or program. Among the factors are a student’s particular life situation regarding time, money, and flexibility. Individual personality type, work style, and computer literacy are other factors. This article focuses on these and other factors gathered from an analysis of two leading journals of nursing.

Web-Based Instruction in Medical Education: A Rationale
  Veronica E. Michaelsen

Medical education is a practice-based discipline that, by definition, must be practiced in order to be mastered. The fact that medicine cannot be practiced at a distance suggests that distance education methods are ill suited for traditional medical education. Despite this, distance education methods in general, and Web-based instruction in particular, are gaining in popularity within the medical discipline. Recent changes in the economics of medical education are in part responsible for this seeming paradox. To better understand this, the recent history of undergraduate medical education is examined in the context of these economic forces. The advantages of Web-based instruction can then be seen to meet a growing need within the field.

Interaction in Virtual Versus Traditional Problem-Based Learning Classrooms: A Pilot Study in Education for Health Professionals
  Nikos Mattheos, Katarina Wretlind, Anders Nattestad, and Rolf Attström

A problem-based learning (PBL) course for health professionals was designed, combining in-classroom meetings with synchronous and asynchronous communication over the Internet. This article describes the educational experience derived from the course, focusing on evaluating the quality and quantity of the various forms of interaction that took place and their individual contribution to the learning experience. It was observed that in-classroom interaction during the PBL course was more than seven times faster than online interaction. In addition, the tutor contribution to the online discussions seems to increase in comparison to the in-classroom sessions. Certain students were repeatedly more active online, while others exhibited lower activity online.

Distance Education for Dentists: Improving the Quality of Online Instruction
  Heiko Spallek, Peter Berthold, Diarmuid B. Shanley, and Rolf Attström

This study describes the development and the evaluation of quality assurance criteria for online dental education. These criteria were developed by the authors and evaluated by oral health professionals through an Internet survey. The survey indicated that oral health professionals ranked the creation of scientifically based, frequently updated courses that clearly define their educational goals and objectives as highly important.

A Retrospective Look at an Internet-Based Pharmacotherapy Prototype: Do the Same Conclusions Apply Today?
  Stanley W. Carson, Pamela U. Joyner, and Gail M. Darden

A prototype Internet-based pharmacotherapy module that was implemented two years ago as a supplement to traditional use of videotaped lectures, course handout materials, two-way videoconferences, and written examinations in a course for External Doctor of Pharmacy students was revisited. The Internet prototype design included a discussion forum, streaming video and audio case presentations, and self-test examination questions with immediate feedback. In retrospect, many of our conclusions continue to be valid. These include the importance of student orientation, support for technical problems, value of self-testing online, and use of Internet-based technologies to supplement, but not replace, traditional approaches.

A Vendor-Free Option for “Online” Content Delivery of a Distance Education Course in Nursing
  Linda Goodwin

A highly successful distance-based course-delivery method was developed using inexpensive, off-the-shelf database software with course content provided to students on CD. The database and CD-delivery format includes buttons and hyperlinks that connect students with seminar discussions as well as assigned readings and Web resources that enhance the weekly lecture content. A vendor-free database and CD-delivery format, which is relatively inexpensive and preferred by both faculty and students, makes it possible for motivated faculty to develop distance-based course materials, no matter what support and environment are provided by their institution.

Providing a Human Biology Laboratory for Distant Learners
  Don Naber and Glenn LeBlanc

This paper describes the development and pilot testing of a human biology laboratory course delivered over the Education Network of Maine. The project serves as an illustrative case of the general problem of teaching science laboratory courses at a distance. The development process is described within the framework of an instructional systems design (ISD) model. The model is described in some detail and the decisions and actions taken at each stage are outlined to provide a “snapshot” of the course and a description of the critical issues that were considered at various stages of the development process. Finally, the development team reflects on the experience and discusses some generally applicable issues that arise when considering the development of laboratory courses for distance delivery.

Academic Dishonesty in Distance Learning Programs: An Exploration of Pharmacy Education
  Nancy Fjortoft, Lynn Patton, Nahed Khayyat, and Lisa Weigand

The objective of this study was to describe academic dishonesty in distance learning programs using a sample of nontraditional doctor of pharmacy (Pharm.D.) programs. A questionnaire that assessed the delivery methods used, the number of students enrolled, and the incidence of academic dishonesty was sent to directors of nontraditional Pharm.D. (NTPD) programs. The sample of thirty-six schools having NTPD programs represented various geographic areas and private and public sectors. Forty-nine percent of the program directors responded “seldom,” and 49% “never,” to the statement, “Incidents of academic dishonesty occur in my NTPD program.” Eighteen percent said that students had reported suspected incidents of academic dishonesty, and 30% said that faculty had reported suspected incidents of academic dishonesty, while 6% and 9%, respectively, had reported witnessed incidents. Most incidents occurred in take-home examinations and assignments. The most prevalent method of preventing academic dishonesty was the use of proctors.

Top of Page