Interactive Distance Learning Program in Palliative Care

描述（申请人提供）：背景：国家研究理事会医学研究所国家癌症咨询委员会在其2001年的报告中呼吁改善姑息治疗方面的医生教育。姑息治疗和临终关怀教育（EPEC）项目是一个雄心勃勃的培训培训师计划，旨在通过其EPEC培训师，使美国所有执业医生了解他们必须具备的能力，以便在良好的临终关怀中发挥作用。它已成为姑息治疗教育的黄金标准，以及一个可持续的，持久的虚拟大学。 随着医学教育越来越依赖远程学习，以远程学习形式提供EPEC教育非常重要。然而，姑息治疗方面的远程学习很少。事实上，远程教育也处于起步阶段。元分析表明，互动是有益的。然而，很少有研究是严格的，也很少有项目是根据教育原则设计的。 目的和方法：我们以前经过充分审查，现在进一步改进的建议重新提交的目的是比较两个远程学习计划，使用EPEC课程与传统的EPEC会议为基础的学习（会议）。其中一个将作为交互式远程学习课程（IDLCourse）。另一个是非交互式网络程序（W课程）。然后，我们将招募550名以前没有参加过EPEC会议的专业人士。我们将他们随机分为三组：150人接受会议，200人接受IDL课程，200人接受W课程。所有三个分支将涵盖相同的课程内容。 评价：评估将检查每门课程对以下方面的影响：知识获取;态度发展;技能获取;行为改变;教授材料的能力;以及参与姑息治疗教育社区。评估将需要使用适当的指标，并将在项目开始和结束时进行，并在3个月后再次进行。我们假设，所有武器将实现类似的知识增益，但会显示出其他结果的差异，即W-课程将实现最少，IDL-课程温和和会议最增益的态度，技能，行为，教学能力和专业参与。这项为期3年的研究的结果将包括：1。一个新的，互动的远程学习姑息治疗教育计划; 2。一些需要评估姑息治疗教育的指标;和3。关于远程学习的哪些特点能产生最大的教育影响的信息。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Background: The National Cancer Advisory Board of the Institute of Medicine with the National Research Council called for improved physician education in palliative care in its 2001 report. The Education in Palliative and End-of-life Care (EPEC) Project is an ambitious train-the-trainer program that aims to reach, through its EPEC Trainers, all practicing physicians in the USA with education about the competencies they must possess to play their role in good end-of-life care. It has become a gold standard in palliative care education, and a programmatically sustainable, enduring virtual college. As medical education relies increasingly on distance learning, it is important to provide the EPEC education in a distance learning form. However, little distance learning exists for palliative care. Indeed, distance learning is also in its infancy. A meta-analysis indicates that interactivity is helpful. However, few studies are rigorous, and few programs are designed according to principles of education. Aims and Methods: This resubmission of our previously well-reviewed, and now further improved proposal aims to compare two distance learning programs that use the EPEC curriculum with the traditional EPEC conference-based learning (Conference). One will be built as an interactive distance learning course (IDLCourse). The other is a non-interactive web program (W-Course). We will then recruit a cohort of 550 professionals who have not previously attended an EPEC Conference. We will randomize them to one of three arms: 150 will receive the Conference, 200 to IDL-Course and 200 the W-Course. All three arms will cover the same curricular content. Evaluation: Evaluation will examine the impact of each course on: knowledge acquisition; attitude development; skills acquisition; behavior change; ability to teach the material; and participation in a palliative care education community. Evaluation will entail use of appropriate metrics and will occur at the start and end of the program and again after 3 months. We hypothesize that all arms will achieve similar knowledge gains but will show differences in other outcomes, namely that W-Course will achieve lest, IDL-Course moderate and Conference most gains in attitudes, skills, behaviors, teaching capacity and professional participation. Outcomes of this 3 year study will include: 1. A new, interactive distance learning palliative care education program; 2. Some needed metrics for evaluating palliative care education; and 3. Information on which features of distance learning result in the greatest educational impact.