Quality indicators for learner-centered postgraduate medical e-learning.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• E-learning Technologies
• Adult Learning Principles

Background:

• Postgraduate medical education increasingly utilizes e-learning platforms.
• Understanding learner and expert needs is crucial for effective e-learning design.
• Current literature lacks a comprehensive framework for postgraduate medical e-learning quality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify the needs and expectations of learners and educational experts in postgraduate medical e-learning.
• To contribute to the existing body of knowledge on effective e-learning strategies.
• To develop a framework for optimizing postgraduate medical e-learning experiences.

Main Methods:

• Four focus-group discussions were conducted with postgraduate learners, educational experts, and commercial e-learning experts.
• Verbatim transcriptions of discussions were analyzed using King's template analysis.
• An initial template, based on literature, was refined through coding and consensus-building.

Main Results:

• A final template emerged with three domains of positive influencers (motivators, learning enhancers, real-world translation) and three negative influencers (barriers, learning discouragers, poor preparation).
• Three core subjects for e-learning were identified: Motivate, Learn, and Apply.
• Six themes encompass essential elements for successful postgraduate e-learning.

Conclusions:

• The developed framework provides a basis for general learning and can be adapted to various educational tools.
• Adapting individual characteristics to the target audience is essential for e-learning success.
• Further research is needed to validate the template with real-world e-learning applications and diverse learner groups.