Online learning applied to a course on rational therapeutics: an international comparison between final year students of two medical schools.

INTRODUCTION: Poor prescribing is probably the most common cause of preventable medication errors and many of these events involve junior doctors. In 2009, an electronic problem-based therapeutics course developed at the University of Michigan Medical School (UMMS) was translated and adapted for use at the University of Zagreb Medical School (UZMS). METHODS: After students from both schools took the course in 2010, we compared their responses with an online questionnaire addressing the course quality and its effectiveness. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences in the overall average grades awarded for the course (UZMS 4.11 ± 0.86 vs. UMMS 3.96 ± 0.93; 95% CI mean difference (MD) -0.36, 0.07; P = 0.175) with both student groups expressing high satisfaction rates with its quality, accessibility and overall design. UZMS students reported spending less time working through the course than their American colleagues (2.14 ± 1.01 vs. 2.89 ± 1.02 on a five point Likert scale; 95% CI MD 0.51, 0.99; P < 0.05). Furthermore, Croatian students indicated greater difficulty with course materials (3.54 ± 0.59 vs. 3.25 ± 0.59; 95% CI MD -0.42, -0.15; P < 0,05) and weekly multiple choice questions (3.83 ± 0.62 vs. 3.4 ± 0.61; 95% CI MD -0.58, -0.29; P < 0,05) compared with the UMMS students. CONCLUSION: It is possible to adapt and translate successfully whole online teaching resources and implement them internationally in different countries and health care systems, achieving similar, high student satisfaction rates while decreasing administrative and cost burdens. Web based learning may have great potential to offer a cost effective and safe environment in which prescribing skills can be improved.

Developing a fully online course for senior medical students.

In 2002 the University of Michigan Medical School created a one-month course in advanced medical therapeutics (AMT). All senior medical students were required to complete the course. To provide some flexibility for students who were interviewing for residency positions the AMT course was created using a distance-learning model, and in the 2008-2009 academic year it was offered in a fully online format. The components of the course are weekly case-based modules, a weekly online seminar, quizzes based on modules and seminars, and a research project based on a therapeutic question. The paper discusses the development and components of the AMT course, a survey of fourth-year medical students who participated in the course between 2007 and 2010, and how the course evolved over three years.