Continuing professional education and the Internet: views of Alberta occupational therapists

Occupational therapists have identified barriers to accessing continuing professional education (CPE) in the traditional face-to-face formats. One alternative to traditional, centrally located, face-to-face CPE is course delivery through the Internet.

This study examined Alberta occupational therapists' perceptions of Internet-based CPE.

A questionnaire was mailed to 800 randomly sampled Alberta occupational therapists (response rate = 35.5%; n = 281).

Respondents pursued CPE to increase skills, knowledge and maintain clinical competency. They reported that a face-to-face CPE course was more useful than distance courses. Although almost 90% of respondents had access to computers with an Internet connection at home or at work, and nearly 65% thought that their computer knowledge was sufficient, only 2.9% had previously taken Internet-based CPE.

In order for the Internet to be accepted as a common, useful and alternative delivery tool for CPE in occupational therapy, the perceived barriers such as the lack of personal time, cost, and limited interaction with other learners and instructors will need to be addressed.