The Utilization of Web-based Continuing Medical Education Courses in Mashhad University of Medical Sciences and its Relationship with Course Characteristics

Introduction: One of the educational methods which can overcome time and distance limitations is electronic learning. Healthcare professionals, facing with such limitations, also need continuing education to keep their information up to date. This study was conducted to evaluate the utilization of electronic courses by the medical professionals in Mashhad University of Medical Sciences and its relation with the courses’ characteristics. Methods: In this descriptive study, all medical professionals under coverage of Khorasan Razavi province continuing medical education (CME) program, were included. Records of participants in all (16) electronic CME courses during the first ten months of its establishment were extracted from CME information system. Data included the topics of presented courses in this time interval, the number of subscribers in each topic and each month, the number of individuals passed the course, the duration of each course, and the number of credit points for each course. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation test. Results: The total number of participants was 824 (five percent of the total number of eligible professionals in the province). A total of 286 subjects (34.7%) achieved the acceptance grade in different courses. There was a significant relationship between the number of participants in a program and the course’s credit points (P=0.02, r=0.63) but no relationship was observed between the course’s points and the rate of participants’ achievement (P=0.48, r=0.067). In addition, the achievement rate in short term courses(less than 6 hours) was significantly more than long term courses (P<0.03, r=-0.70). Conclusion: Online CMEs are helpful but the prerequisite is an appropriate design, presentation of short term courses, and observation on content production. These courses should be accessible for learners and endow appropriate credit points to the learners to motivate learners to utilize these programs.