Integration of the e-Learning into the medical university curricula

Abstract

Abstract:Objectives: The aim of this contribution was to present the e-Learning introduction in the Slovak Medical University (SMU) with a focus on the implementation phase of the two blended courses -Healthcare Quality and Healthcare Professionals' Ethics. Background: The introduction of the e-Learning was realized during the period 2008-2009 in the partnership of SMU and IBM Company, following strictly the project management approach. Methods: The development of the e-module beta-versions was evaluated by the modules' authors using a structured interview. In a consequent pilot testing, the blended courses were evaluated by 23 students of the bachelor program in Rescue health care, and by 61 public health students at the master level program, respectively, using the standardized questionnaires. Results:The tangible results included the documented SMU strategy for the e-Learning integration, six e-Learning modules and evaluation results. The authors' evaluation showed high scores for the experience in collaboration with IBM, as well as for the experience with the LMS environment. The students' evaluation showed a high acceptance of the e-Learning by both part-time and full-time students. The access to Internet was not recognized as a serious barrier. Conclusion:The fi rst experience with the integration of the e-Learning into the curricula of the Slovak Medical University showed the advantage of the systematic approach. The experience with developing the strategy in an interdisciplinary/ intercultural team, the knowledge about specifi c characteristics of distance learning by the involved SMU staff, and the know-how and skills represented the important benefi ts. It was demonstrated that the blended learning is recommended as optimal for the education in medical environment (Tab. 4, Fig. 1 Acknowledgement: We thank Ms. Milusa Baksova for her enthusiastic involvement in the preparation of the teaching materials, the questionnaires and the organization of pilot courses and their evaluation, as well as Ms. Katarina Ondruskova for her professional technical support during the modules development, providing numerous changes according to the authors' feedback. We also thank students for their participation at the pilot implementation of e-courses and their feedback.