E-learning Package Research Articles

Nursing students' knowledge of working with D/deaf and hard of hearing patients: Evaluation of a deaf awareness elearning package

AimThe aim of this study was to evaluate a newly developed Deaf awareness e-learning package with nursing students at one university in Wales, UK. BackgroundD/deaf and hard of hearing communities face a multitude of barriers when accessing and receiving healthcare leading to under diagnosis of health conditions and poorer health outcomes in general. Lack of awareness, teaching, and exposure to the D/deaf and hard of hearing populations during health care professional training programmes has been shown to contribute to this health disparity. DesignA descriptive cross-sectional design was used with two cohorts of undergraduate nursing students at one university in Wales, UK who were invited to undertake a Deaf awareness eLearning package developed with D/deaf communities in Wales. MethodsNursing student engagement and course completion were monitored, and evaluation survey questionnaires were implemented. ResultsThe Deaf awareness eLearning package evaluation showed engagement with over 400 nursing students, who scored the package an overall mark (1 to 5 stars) of 4.72 out of 5. In total, 227 nursing students completed the eLearning package and received the certificate. Students reported finding the eLearning package very interactive, easy to navigate, thought the three-hour length was about right. However, we would like to know more about factors that influence student non-engagement and dropout. ConclusionsThese findings suggest that eLearning Deaf awareness programs can be successful in increasing knowledge and confidence around communicating with D/deaf and hard of hearing patients for nursing, with potential benefits for wider rollout across wider health and care student and staff populations. Registration numberGrant number: 101010662\\737073]. Tweetable abstractD/deaf and hard of hearing patients experience barriers in healthcare so health professionals need accessible Deaf awareness training. Our eLearning model shows promise.

Evaluation of an E-Learning Training Package by Nurses of Various Designations for Developing Clinical Skills and Knowledge

Education helps nurses maintain, improve and broaden their professional knowledge to meet their obligations to provide ethical, safe and competent care. Globally, electronic learning (e-learning) has emerged in the last decade as a flexible mechanism to provide education for nurses. However, not enough is known about how nurses view e-learning as continuing education and whether the skills and knowledge gained are transferable to daily practice. A descriptive correlational design applying a non-experimental quantitative approach was employed to evaluate an e-learning training package used by nurses of various designations for developing clinical skills and knowledge at a private hospital in Perth, Western Australia. Data were collected via a survey method over 3 years. Findings suggest an e-learning training package effectiveness is mainly dependent on the implementation process, the way learning is packaged and sequenced, and the instructional design of the package. When the e-learning training package uses materials participants can apply with patients in the clinical setting, there is higher active engagement and application of content to practice. This study’s findings reveal more flexible implementation approaches might be considered in the future, including blended learning.

Safety in spinal surgery-Empowering clinicians to report concerns in motor function.

Timely identification of neurological deterioration in patients with spinal disorders, through spinal motor assessment, is paramount in achieving early intervention to reduce the risk of permanent deficits. This project was initiated to meet the requirement for safe, timely spinal motor assessment through establishing and addressing clinician's educational needs. Mixed methods study conducted through online survey and concurrent focus groups June 2022-April 2023. Pre-intervention online survey and focus groups identified insufficient provision of education targeted at identifying changes in motor function and as a result, clinicians lacked confidence and competence in completing assessments and caring for patients with spinal disorders. An e-learning package was created and shared widely along with additional interventions to support assessment completion. To establish the success of the project a post-intervention online survey was distributed. Survey respondents reported that the e-learning package has influenced their practice to either some extent or to a great extent with 91% reporting increased confidence in completing a spinal motor assessment. Post-intervention results also demonstrated an increase in confidence in caring for spinal surgery patients. Through engaging with clinicians to establish and address educational needs, this quality improvement project has successfully increased competence and confidence in this area of spinal care. This study highlights the importance of targeted education to ensure that clinicians are appropriately skilled to identify neurological deterioration and demonstrates the effectiveness of digital education in providing this. This study addressed concerns around timely identification of deterioration of spinal patients. Study findings were the success in utilizing digital education to increase clinician's confidence and competence and thus enhance patient safety. This research will have an impact on clinical areas caring for patients with spinal disorders. SQUIRE guidelines. No patient or public contribution.

The experience of occupational therapists and physiotherapists using a prototype, evidence-informed online knowledge translation resource to learn about patient-defined, personally-meaningful chronic pain rehabilitation.

Chronic pain is a complex biopsychosocial experience, and rehabilitation helps people to manage pain, and restore valued life roles. Evidence suggests that more positive outcomes occur when clients perceive their rehabilitation to be meaningful. People with chronic pain describe rehabilitation as personally-meaningful when they develop a genuine connection with a credible therapist who they see as a guiding partner, and when rehabilitation holds personal value, is self-defined, and relevant to their sense of self-identity. This paper presents a qualitative study of therapists' experience using an e-learning package on patient-defined, personally-meaningful rehabilitation. A qualitative descriptive design was used to explore rehabilitation therapists' experience of a prototype evidence-informed, online resource developed on the basis of eLearning and web-design principles. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted with a purposive sample of occupational therapists and physiotherapists, and inductive coding and thematic analysis of transcripts was completed. Twenty-four therapists (12 occupational therapists, 12 physiotherapists) participated, representing a mix of gender and experience (early career; experienced; and specialist). Four themes and 12 sub-themes emerged from the analysis. The resource delivered a positive user experience, which added (translational) value to enhance learning, and participants were highly positive about the future potential of the resource to translate chronic pain rehabilitation research for early career, experienced, and specialist rehabilitation therapists. Results suggest that the disparate learning needs of rehabilitation therapists from diverse professional backgrounds and experience, may be addressed through the one resource. Participant feedback provides evidence that the resource fits with current models of learning and behaviour change. This study demonstrates the importance of basing online resources on eLearning and web-design principles to translate complex biopsychosocial chronic pain rehabilitation research for rehabilitation therapists.

Educating for capability and preparing for practice: Integrating theory and skills.

Capability is the ability to perform clinical skills in ever-changing real world contexts, adapting to challenges and integrating technical and non-technical skills and competencies, for example, cannulating an uncooperative patient at night. Going beyond teaching competency and ensuring capability is imperative, as recommended by the national outcomes for medical graduates. A course on intravenous cannulation was developed with e-learning modules and high-fidelity complex simulation scenarios, aiming to promote capability in practice. The course delivered an intravenous cannulation e-learning package between two practical simulations to 10 final-year medical students. The hybrid simulation design consisted of an actor with a bespoke cannulation part-task trainer strapped to their arm. Each simulation delivered a challenging scenario, requiring the integration of procedural and behavioural skills to succeed. Simulations were video recorded, and participants reviewed their performances before completing semi-structured interviews. Transcribed interviews were thematically analysed. Interview analysis demonstrated two overarching themes: 'Impact on Capability' and 'Preparedness for Practice'. There was consistent recognition of improved capability from the interviews. Simulation exercises were described as the most valuable tool for developing capability. The e-learning helped with structure, facilitating students' adaptation to scenarios. Participants felt that training in medical school was largely competency-based and did not tackle complex interactions. Following e-learning and simulations, students felt more prepared for clinical practice. The course structure has value for medical professionals in developing capability and preparing for clinical practice, helping to reach standards expected of graduates. Plans to assess capability across multiple undergraduate programmes through Entrustable Professional Activities are in progress.

P09 Lancashire and South Cumbria Critical Care Network Vancomycin Project

Abstract Background This project was a collaborative piece of work across a critical care network that included specialist advice from colleagues including aseptic/technically trained pharmacists and microbiology to optimize care for critical care patients in Lancashire and South Cumbria. We used several members of our workforce including pharmacists, nursing staff, microbiologists, rotational doctors and consultants to work towards a harmonized guideline. Methods During our initial meeting, we identified that different centres were using different glycopeptides and administering them differently: East Lancashire Hospitals (ELHT)—continuous vancomycin infusion; Blackpool Cardiac and Blackpool General—continuous vancomycin infusion, with no formal guideline in place but adopted from ELHT; Lancashire Teaching Hospitals—intermittent vancomycin infusions; and University Hospitals Morecambe Bay—teicoplanin is glycopeptide of choice. Our consultant microbiologist discussed the use of glycopeptides and what infections they are used for in critical care. The pharmacokinetics of vancomycin and the benefit of using a continuous infusion was also discussed. We decided to undertake a clinical audit of our vancomycin guidelines at ELHT to ensure that we had an evidence base to implement our guideline and provide assurance to the working group. We agreed to reconvene the working group after this audit was completed and after the concerns of colleagues had been addressed. Results and conclusions We presented the results of our audit and highlighted the opportunities harmonizing this guideline would provide. We discussed various scenarios such as stepping up from a ward protocol to a continuous infusion and the different methods of calculating creatinine clearance and if this would influence the first 24 h of the infusion. One comment was concerning the administration of vancomycin and the number of times nurses will be changing bags for patients requiring higher doses, i.e. the majority of patients would usually be on 3 g/day or more depending on concentrations. This would mean changing the bag more than twice a day; as much as there is a therapeutic benefit to continuous vancomycin infusions, considering the max. concentration for peripheral and central lines allows for larger volumes, it would be beneficial (except in fluid restricted cases) to have a slightly larger volume to reduce the number of bag changes and plastic consumption. We considered this comment and discussed it with our aseptic services lead pharmacist. We attended a meeting of the ICS Aseptics Working Party across Lancashire and South Cumbria. WE discussed the proposed guideline and requested that aseptic units across Lancashire and South Cumbria developed worksheets to manufacture 5 g in 600 mL or 10 g in 1.2 L for central use to stop breaking the line when changing a bag and reducing plastic consumption. We also met with critical care practice educators across the network to discuss how we can promote this guideline and ensure nursing staff and prescribers are aware of how to prescribe and administer continuous vancomycin infusions. One of our units noted that they have had a few incidents with incorrect concentrations of vancomycin being made up for patients. We developed an e-learning package to educate our workforce.

Addressing complexity when developing an education program for the implementation of a stroke Electronic Medical Record (EMR) enhancement

BackgroundDigital interventions in health services often fail due to an underappreciation of the complexity of the implementation. This study develops an approach to address complexity through an evidenced-based, theory-driven education and implementation program for an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) digital enhancement for acute stroke care.MethodsAn action research approach was used to design, develop, and execute the education and implementation program over several phases, with iterative changes over time. The study involved collaboration with multiple statewide and local key stakeholders and was conducted across two tertiary teaching hospitals and a regional hospital in Australia.ResultsInsights were gained over five phases. Phase 1 involved a review of evidence that supported blended learning strategies for the education and training of staff end-users. In Phase 2, contextual assessment was conducted via observation of study sites, providing awareness of local context variability and insight into key implementation considerations. The Non-adoption, Abandonment, Scale-Up, Spread and Sustainability (NASSS) framework assisted in Phase 3 to identify and manage the key domains of complexity. Phase 4 involved the design of the program which included group-based training and an e-learning package, endorsed and evaluated by key leaders. Throughout implementation in Phase 5, further barriers were identified, and iterative changes were tailored to each context.ConclusionsThe NASSS framework, combined with a multi-phased approach employing blended learning techniques, context evaluations, and iterative modifications, can serve as a model for generating theory-driven and evidence-based education strategies that adresss the complexity of the implementation process and context.

Multiperspective Pedagogy Innovation in Indigenous History to Enhance Happiness Historical Consciousness of Secondary School Students in the Cultural Diversity Area of Thailand

The objectives of the research at this time were to 1) study the multiperspective pedagogy innovation in indigenous history guideline to enhance happiness historical consciousness, 2) innovate multiperspective pedagogy innovation in indigenous history to enhance happiness historical consciousness of secondary school students in the cultural diversity area of Thailand, and 3) study the results of applying multiperspective pedagogy innovation in indigenous history to enhance happiness historical consciousness of secondary school students in the cultural diversity area of Thailand. This was action research. Samples used included 1) 15 social studies and history teachers, 2) 5 specialists in social studies education, and 3) 329 secondary students in upper northern Thailand, 349 in total. Research tools used included 1) a semi-structured interview, 2) a quality assessment form for the E-learning package, 3) a questionnaire on happiness historical consciousness, and 4) notes on group conversations. Content analysis was applied to qualitative data analysis and quantitative data was analyzed using statistical software to calculate means and standard deviation values. The results are shown below: 1) In studying the model of multiperspective pedagogy innovation in indigenous history to enhance happiness historical consciousness, it was found that hybrid learning should be applied to the model and should focus on organizing the learning management system that promotes and allows students to develop themselves to understand social conditions, trends, and problems related to living in a future society by asking questions about social phenomena. The model of learning management was called the MITH Model of Multiperspective Pedagogy Innovation in Indigenous History. The model consisted of 1) motivation, 2) independent learning issue, 3) task-based learning, and 4) holistic approach. The purposes of the model were to encourage students to adjust themselves socially, encourage them to ask questions as lifelong learners, to live with other people peacefully, and encourage them to adopt philosophy so they can live balanced lives., 2) In creating multiperspective pedagogy innovation in indigenous history to enhance happiness historical consciousness of secondary school students in the cultural diversity area of Thailand, the study found that multiperspective based history learning innovation to enhance happiness historical consciousness which had been developed was in the form of E-learning package which consisted of lesson plans and Google Classroom. The E-learning package was the highest in quality which indicates that the E-learning package can be effectively applied to multiperspective based history learning innovation to enhance happiness historical consciousness of secondary school students in the cultural diversity area of Thailand. And 3) In studying the results of using multiperspective pedagogy innovation in indigenous history to enhance happiness historical consciousness of secondary school students in the cultural diversity area of Thailand, it was found that students who participated in the multiperspective based history learning activity were at the highest level of happiness historical consciousness. From the assessment, the developed learning management system helped to instill happiness historical consciousness into students, making them proud of being active citizens who can perceive our global society in the future from a multiperspective.

Mastering the Action of Subtraction of the Numbers within 20 with Regrouping Using Educational Interactive Worksheets

The mathematics curriculum for the first grade of primary school / compulsory preparation/ outlines six main topics which define the educational content intended for learning. One of these topics is Addition and Subtraction of numbers within 20 with regrouping. This paper aims to present a study related to the creation of original package of electronic educational content, which was developed in order to help the 7 – 8-year-old students acquire the knowledge and skills of subtracting numbers within 20 with regrouping. The e-learning content package includes worksheets created on the digital online platform LiveWorksheets. The degree of effectiveness of the developed electronic educational resources was examined during the academic year 2021/2022. 144 students from the first grade of primary school participated in the experimental study. The obtained results of the experiment and their analysis show that the application of the presented original package of electronic educational resources leads to an easier and deeper assimilation of knowledge and skills for subtracting numbers within 20 with regrouping.

The Development and Implementation of a National Veterinary Graduate Development Programme (VetGDP) to Support Veterinarians Entering the UK Workforce.

The UK veterinary profession is facing significant challenges, including high rates of veterinarians leaving the profession amidst workforce shortages, alongside high levels of dissatisfaction, stress, and poor mental health. The highest rates of attrition are associated with veterinarians who have recently graduated and are at an early stage in their careers. Although there may be many contributory factors, a lack of adequate support during the transition from vet school into their first professional role following graduation may be one important cause. Consequently, it has never been more important to develop an effective system for supporting new graduates, which is accessible to all. A new Veterinary Graduate Development Programme (VetGDP) has been developed, using a framework of professional activities that are sufficiently flexible to create a bespoke, individualized program for each graduate depending on the role they enter. Each new graduate is assigned a dedicated coach (Adviser) within their workplace, who has been trained to provide effective support and has committed to doing so throughout the program. VetGDP has been implemented on a national scale in the UK; engagement is assured through the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct and quality assurance is in place. VetGDP has been developed using established educational, sociocultural, and behavioral theories, and the latest research in coaching and feedback within medical education. These methods, which aim to ensure there is the best possible impact on graduates' professional development, and the creation of a positive learning culture within the workplace, are taught to all Advisers via an e-learning package.

The development and introduction of a national e-learning programme to support the dissemination of NEWS2

Early detection, timeliness and competence of clinical response are a triad of determinants of clinical outcome in people with acute illness. In 2012, the Royal College of Physicians published the National Early Warning Score (NEWS) with the aim of standardising the response to, assessment of and monitoring of acutely ill patients. This was subsequently updated in December 2017 to become NEWS2. Alongside the development of NEWS/NEWS2, it was clear that a supportive educational package was going to be essential for dissemination, learning and national adoption of NEWS/NEWS2 across all healthcare settings. Another driver for the early development of an e-learning package to accompany the launch of NEWS in 2012 was the opportunity that it provided not only to standardise the early warning system across the NHS but also to use that standardised process to facilitate better and more consistent education and training across the entire healthcare system; building on the concept of NEWS providing a common language.

Preparing children's nurses for working with children and adolescents who self-harm: Evaluating the 'our care through our eyes' e-learning training package.

Rates of self-harm among children and adolescents have risen significantly over the past decade and clinical guidelines place children's nurses at the heart of their care. This article reports on the evaluation of 'Our Care Through Our Eyes', an online self-harm learning programme for children's nurses. A self-selected, convenience sample of registered children's nurses (n = 42) completed scales pre- and postlearning programme that captured their attitudes, beliefs, empathy, anxiety, and confidence. Mean change scores were assessed, and qualitative comments captured postintervention were thematically summarized. There were small improvements in participants' attitudes, empathy and confidence were reported. Anxiety scores increased in a small number of items. Qualitative comments confirmed the value of the online learning programme for improving children's nurses' knowledge and understanding of self-harm among CYP. Our findings demonstrate that children's nurses agree on the importance of mental health training in self harm, and this could be a catalyst for renewal of both pre- and postregistration education including support structures within the National Health Service. This study is the first to explore the feasibility of evaluating 'Our Care Through Our Eyes' delivered using e-leaning and could be used to inform further investigations.

Psychological therapists' perceptions of adolescent depression and its treatment: A mixed methods online survey.

Challenges to implementating interventions for adolescent depression exist. Exploring the perceptions of key stakeholders in the treatment of adolescent depression is essential for improving implementation . This study aimed to explore psychological therapists' perceptions of, and experiences treating, adolescent depression to identify future avenues for exploration. Data were collected opportunistically via a survey integrated within an e-learning package about adolescent depression. Participants believed that adolescent depression was characterised by adolescents' lack of understanding, isolation, and a lack of hope and knowledge. Participants overcame engagement barriers by building trust. Following the e-learning, participants expressed increased understanding of the risk factors associated with adolescent depression and of assessment using different measures. Several key areas for future research to explore were identified and discussed, including (1) whether clinicians of different modalities or at different career stages have difference perceptions, (2) how to meaningfully engage adolescents in treatment and (3) how to train clinicians on different modalities so patients have a choice over their treatment. This study demonstrates the value of knowledge gained from understanding psychological therapists' perceptions and illustrates how this can contribute to the improved treatment of adolescent depression.

Design and Evaluation of e-Learning Package for Breast Cancer Prevention for Iranian Women

Design and Evaluation of e-Learning Package for Breast Cancer Prevention for Iranian Women

ELearning to improve prescribing safety in primary care

Prescribing errors in UK general practice are common and have a substantial impact on morbidity and mortality. In this article, Richard Knox and Gill Gookey describe the development of an interactive eLearning package for primary care prescribers designed to improve prescribing safety, and discuss its evaluation by users.

59 Rapid Training During A Pandemic: An Evaluation of a Covid-19 Video E-Learning Package

As COVID-19 hospital admissions rose in 2020, there was a requirement to prepare wards and staff to care for COVID-19 patients, especially given the rapidly emerging and frequently evolving guidance, and high levels of re-deployment (GMC, 2020). In one London Trust, this need for educational material geared towards ward staff resulted in a multi-disciplinary simulation education team being commissioned to produce an e-learning resource. We measured the effectiveness of the resource for ward staff as well as any improvement in learners’ COVID-19 knowledge.The aim of the study was to quantify the effectiveness of an e-learning package in improving learners’ COVID-19 knowledge.In November 2020, an e-learning package was created, comprising a video series documenting the journey of a patient with COVID-19 covering admission to discharge (filmed from the patient perspective). This was integrated with content highlighting key aspects of COVID-19 care, ending with a mandatory assessment with an 80% pass mark. The e-learning was disseminated to hospital staff (doctors, nurses and allied healthcare professionals) with data collection via SurveyMonkey® from November 2020 for 3 months. Pre- and post-surveys were included to investigate the average improvement of learners and the impact of the resource on learner self-efficacy through self-rating on six learning outcomes. Free-text options in the post-survey allowed qualitative feedback, aiding continual resource development.In total, 108 learners, about half of whom were doctors, completed both surveys, with a significant difference (p < 0.01) between the pre- and post-learning results and an overall improvement in learners’ knowledge after completion of the e-learning (Average pre- and post-learning scores of learners’ self-reported knowledge and percentage improvement*Treatment escalation plans.E-learning can rapidly disseminate learning, at a time when most feel the pandemic has had a mixed or negative impact on learning opportunities (Dean E, 2020; GMC, 2020). The e-learning is continually updated with new evidence, with plans to expand access across London. An iterative process was undertaken with updates in response to learner feedback due to the speed at which the resource needed to be developed, for example, turning resources into PDFs for home access. The e-learning remains live given rising COVID-19 cases. Further work is required to investigate the effectiveness of this resource across London and how beneficial it has been for clinical work.

2021 EFSA/IZSAM Animal Health Crisis Preparedness Exercise with Mediterranean Countries

In July 2021, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) jointly devised, developed and delivered an online workshop on animal health crisis preparedness with IZSAM, focusing on Rift Valley fever (RVF). The overall training objective was to improve incident response collaboration between animal and public health authorities from multiple countries, using a ‘One Health’ approach. The 4 specific exercise learning objectives were to test and improve skills in: (a) outbreak investigation; (b) prevention of RVF outbreaks; (c) control of RVF outbreaks; (d) identifying and communicating to affected stakeholders about RVF outbreaks. Workshop content was jointly developed by EFSA, IZSAM and Instinctif Partners, with input from ECDC, FAO, OIE, WHO and EC DG SANTE. Twenty-seven participants from 6 EU Member States (MSs) and 3 EU candidate countries attended the training, as well as 12 observers from 3 EU MSs and 3 international organisations. Plenary and working group activities extended across 3 days, preceded by the availability of an online RVF eLearning package developed by IZSAM. During the morning of Day One, 8 presentations were provided on various topics: (a) ‘One Health’; (b) how EFSA and ECDC respond in urgent situations such as cross-border threats of zoonotic disease emergences; (c) best practices in emergency risk communication; (d) examples of national-level preparedness activities; (e) lessons learned from FAO RVF missions in Mauritania. From the afternoon of Day One to the morning of Day Three, a desktop discussion addressed the national and EU-level responses that would ensue if RVF entered the EU, based on a fictional scenario. An additional presentation on Day Three reported on a recent RVF simulation exercise in Bulgaria. Concluding the event, subject matter experts provided interactive training on: (a) emergency response capacity building; (b) ‘One Health’; (c) risk communication. The objectives of the event were achieved, based on recorded outcomes and feedback provided by participants in a series of online evaluation surveys. In addition, discussions during the event generated several practical recommendations for future enhancements and improvements.

Are we getting it right? A review of end-of-life care in community nursing.

End-of-life (EoL) care is an important role in community nursing. In order to assess a community nursing team's performance in the delivery of EoL care, an evaluation of the EoL care template was undertaken from electronic patient records. Records were assessed against a set of four care priorities across 23 nursing teams in a large acute/community trust. Some 103 electronic patient records were evaluated out of a convenience sample of 110 (94% response rate). The results demonstrated that patients' wishes are being discussed and documented and the priorities of care are being considered with patients needing EoL care. Thus, patients and their families are being supported by the community nursing service, which is communicating with them sensitively and involving patients in the decision-making process. In some cases, the EoL Care Template was not fully completed, which would result in poorer communication across teams and organisations of practice within the wider community. Future action will be focused on continuing to encourage and improve the use of the EoL care template as well as the local online e-learning package for EoL care.

Welsh dental trainees' confidence and competence in completing orthodontic assessments and referrals.

To improve the confidence and competence of newly qualified dentists in Wales in undertaking orthodontic assessments and making orthodontic referrals. Quality improvement project. Study days arranged by the Wales Deanery. The 2018-2019 cohort of dental foundation trainees (DFTs) and dental core trainees (DCTs) in Wales. Data were collected prospectively between January and February 2019 utilising a 20-item questionnaire based around knowledge and clinical ability in orthodontic assessment and referrals (Stage 1). In May 2019, the trainees were provided with an e-learning package tailored to the results of the clinical questions and the feedback received in Stage 1. After this, trainees repeated the questionnaire with a simplified Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN; Stage 2). There was increased self-reported confidence in 'conducting orthodontic assessments' from 67% to 95% and 'competence in completing orthodontic referrals' from 81% to 92%. At baseline, this cohort were only able to correctly determine dental age and orthodontic treatment need for 40.7% (mean) of the presented linical cases. Following the teaching intervention, this was improved with an average of 70.9% of clinical cases answered correctly. Despite the noted improvement in the self-reported confidence and competence in undertaking orthodontic assessments and referrals in this cohort, there is still room for improvement. Hands-on orthodontic experience during dental training improved the self-reported confidence and competence with assessments and referrals. The results of this quality improvement project emphasise the need for regular continuing professional development in the field of orthodontics to maintain competence in utilising IOTN and referring appropriately.

Comparison of an e-learning package with lecture-based teaching in the management of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT): a randomised controlled study

IntroductionTo compare the impact of an e-learning package with theoretical teaching on the ability of both graduate and undergraduate medical students to learn the management of supraventricular tachycardia.MethodsWe conducted a...