An internet based learning tool in orthopaedic surgery: preliminary experiences and results

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Health Informatics
• Digital Learning

Background:

• Universities increasingly offer online educational resources like lecture notes and videos.
• Traditional e-learning methods may not fully cater to specialized medical training needs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a newly developed web-based multimedia resource center for Trauma Surgery education.
• To assess student and instructor perceptions of the "Trauma Surgery Schoolbook" as a learning tool.

Main Methods:

• Development of a web-based multimedia resource center using the "Schoolbook" Content-Management-System (CMS).
• Implementation and evaluation of the "Trauma Surgery Schoolbook" with medical students at Hannover Medical School.
• Data collection through surveys and utilization tracking during the 2005/06 academic year.

Main Results:

• Student utilization of the "Trauma Surgery Schoolbook" increased from 67% to 93% over three trimesters.
• A significant majority of students (79.6%) found the resource constructive and helpful for study.
• Instructors also found the web-based program practical for complementing lectures.

Conclusions:

• Web-based technologies, exemplified by the "Trauma Surgery Schoolbook", can enhance the quality of medical education.
• The "Trauma Surgery Schoolbook" proved to be an effective and well-received supplementary learning tool for medical students.
• Digital resources offer valuable support for both student self-study and instructor-led teaching in specialized medical fields.