Teaching clinical trials electronically

This article discusses the development, delivery and evaluation of an elect ronic extramural course, 'Fundamentals of Clinical Trials', a CME course de signed to reach physicians and health care researchers without easy access to a local university. Ten week-long modules of instruction were developed. These were based on a graduate course in clinical trials, standard textboo k topics and additional course materials specifically developed for the cou rse. Questions and course topics were to be discussed by the students, and each participant was encouraged to present an actual or proposed clinical t rial to the virtual class. Communication between students and tutors could be either 'one to one' or through a listserve, i.e. an automated mailing li st available to all participants which copied and routed any message instan tly to all participants. Ongoing evaluation of the course was accomplished by questions monitoring students' attitudes and needs, and a more extensive on-line questionnaire administered at the end of the course. Ten students from four countries were accepted onto the course. Half of the students con tributed regularly and extensively, while the others tended to respond only when addressed directly. The students spent on average approximately 6 hou rs per week on the course. This differed little from regular classroom cour ses, but the students appreciated the ability to organize the course around their regular schedules. The students preferred topics that encouraged dis cussion and differing opinions. From the instructors' viewpoint, considerab le time was required for course development and communication. This form of distance continuing medical education was preferred by all the students ov er regular correspondence courses, as it allowed for more immediacy and int eraction. However, the time required for developing and reaching courses ov er the Internet should nor be underestimated.