Long-distance education in radiology via a clinical telemedicine system

The objectives of the present study are to examine quality of learning, improved comprehension, and the preferred method of learning with teleradiology. Thirteen pairs of medical students transmitted 2,133 radiological series of skeletal injuries telemedically from a community hospital to the main emergency department. Students marked their diagnosis, quality of learning, improvement in comprehension, and preferred method of learning, each marked on a Likert scale. The quality of learning of the 13 sessions marked by the pairs of the students was ranked as excellent = 6, good = 16, fair = 4, unsatisfactory = 0, poor = 0. This was in contrast with the radiological series, which was marked as excellent = 55% or poor or unsatisfactory = 27.5%, most of the poor marks, as explained by the students, being awarded to transmissions in the second half of what had been very long sessions. The pre-tuition comprehension improved from 73 series marked as poor, and 1,037 series marked as unsure. The preferred method of tuition was teleradiology only in 21.8%, teleradiology teaching enhanced by clinical features, lectures and personal study in 62%. Teleradiological sessions needed to be reduced to an hour. Teleradiological teaching is a good method as long as the session lasts no more than 60 minutes, is interrupted by a 10-minute coffee break, and is supplemented by clinical features, lectures, and personal study.