Developing a virtual learning course in emergency medicine for F2 doctors

Changes in the regulation of junior doctors' hours and in the design of medical career pathways have rendered the traditional weekly tutorial ineffective for teaching the core knowledge of emergency medicine. In this paper, the inception of a virtual leaning environment and the development of an online course for F2 doctors in our emergency department are described. The course, delivered in the open source Moodle virtual learning environment, allows us to reliably deliver educational content to all our juniors regardless of shift patterns. It provides insight into the effectiveness of that education, and records the students' activities and achievements to a level far beyond that achievable through traditional teaching methods.