Teleconferencing as a medium for continuing education of health professionals

This paper describes 15 years' experience with narrow band telephony applied to continuing education of physicians and nursing staff in the state of Wisconsin. The telephonic approach is shown to be viable, effective and economical; especially so when compared to wideband video alternatives or peripatetic teachers. The department of Continuing Medical Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison, initiated the use of telephony for instructional purpose in non-credit continuing education in November, 1965. Facilities were installed for 18 hospitals, up to 350 miles from Madison, for use by 286 physicians two hours weekly. The program included lecture outlines, visuals and a full array of telephone equipment with lectures strictly timed yet allowing for questions and answers. The technical system was validated by a series of pretests and immediate and late-posttests of 52 physicians taking a telephone course. Technology was found not to interfere with the education process. The University has since enlarged the network by more than a factor of 10. By 1979-80 there were 1,320 program sessions with participation exceeding 34,000--or 270,596 student contact hours, at approximately $5.33 per student contact hours. Drawbacks include lack of eye contact, difficulty in understanding foreign accents, and necessity for videocassettes when demonstrations require movement. Strong points of telephony include its flexibility; variation in numbers attending and in visual aids; location of instructors and use in single subject/single day teaching. Telephony was found to be a uniquely useful means of providing continuing education to hospital and medical staffs.