Online continuing education for dental hygienists: DH forum

There is a concern that excellent continuing education is difficult for many employed dental hygienists to obtain at locations distant from major metropolitan centers. This difficulty can change the practice mechanisms of these dental hygienists, and possibly affect patient care. The Dental Hygiene Program at Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, began an innovative online program, "DH Forum," to address this concern. The program follows a case-based educational method of integration of theory into practice, so that learning is easily adapted to practice situations. The program also includes the latest in dental theory and practice, and links to many other informative Internet sites. Objectives of the online program were to meet the continuing education needs of dental hygienists in areas distant to metropolitan areas and pursue a high level of excellence in the areas of organization, material presented, appropriateness of material, and satisfaction of individual course objectives. An online feedback form using a simple survey method was used to obtain results. More than 86% of the initial 71 participants who filled out the form are employed as dental hygienists in a variety of settings. More than 86% of these participants reside in areas distant from major metropolitan centers. In addition, more than 77% of these participants felt that overall, the program met its objectives on an excellent to near excellent level. Within its initial months of operation, the online feedback shows that the program has more than succeeded in meetings its objectives. Online continuing education for dental hygienists is a worthwhile addition to onsite continuing education programs for the advancement of high standards of care for all concerned, as long as certain considerations are followed. Further methods to evaluate online programs should be considered in the future.