TelePresence in Rural Medical Education: A Mixed Methods Evaluation

Katherine Gray,David Newsome,Donald Lancaster,Victoria Smith,Kristian Krogh,Debra Nestel

doi:10.1155/2014/823639

Abstract

In response to rural health workforce shortages, universities and training providers offer rural and remote clinical placements. This has led to development of educational methods to counter the barriers of distance. In this emerging field, recent improvements in technology have provided solutions including the use of sophisticated videoconferencing systems such as the Cisco TelePresence model CTS-500. This paper evaluates the use of TelePresence in diverse medical education activities using a mixed methods design—questionnaires n=60, individual interviews n=33, and observed practice of activities n=22. TelePresence was found to be beneficial to learning and teaching and superior to other systems participants had used. In particular, the audiovisual quality, resulting intimacy, convenience, and ease of use facilitated teaching and learning, while the fixed camera and poorly arranged physical environment were found to be limitations. The system is best suited for small group activities. Clinical skills-based activities are viable. It is recommended that technical support be available during setup and use and a picture-in-picture mode be included and improved integration of office suite software to provide a joint workspace for display of presentations, images, editing or annotation of documents, and file sharing.

Highlights

There is a shortage of doctors in rural Australia further compounded by a lack of resources in this setting [1]
Funded by the Federal and State Governments to address to National Rural Health Workforce Strategy, Monash University opened the Gippsland Medical School (GMS) in Churchill, Victoria, in 2008 [3]
We developed the following research questions to evaluate the use of the teleconferencing system TP in medical education

Summary

Introduction

There is a shortage of doctors in rural Australia further compounded by a lack of resources in this setting [1]. The current cohort has ninety students, with more than twenty clinical sites over 22,000 square kilometres in eastern Victoria [3] With this vast area, it is a significant challenge to provide appropriate teaching and learning facilities for staff and students. For students and clinicians studying and working in rural and remote areas there are limited avenues for education In a country such as Australia, where clinical sites can be hundreds of kilometres from the nearest major city, attending classes geographically distant to the clinical site is challenging. Teleconferencing can overcome this problem providing effective education that would not have otherwise been possible [10]. (2) What elements of TP hinder learning and teaching in selected medical education activities?

Materials and Methods

Results and Discussion

Participants

Conclusions