Friday 12 January 2007

Radiology E-Learning Project

Consultant radiologists from Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust have contributed to Europe’s biggest e-learning project.

A team from the Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) and the Department of Health (DH) support by e-content engineers created the project, called the NHS Radiology Integrated Training Initiative (R-ITI). The team who have just won the prestigious ‘e-learning team of the year award’ at the 2006 E-Learning Age Awards, beat others from across the world.

The integrated e-learning system designed by the team, allows trainee radiologists to learn the core curriculum of this highly-specialised medical discipline in a more effective and efficient way. The Peninsula Radiology Academy in Plymouth has served as a testing ground for the e-learning tools, allowing better preparation of a greater number of radiology trainees.

The project has very much a Westcountry flavour. Dr Paul Dubbins, consultant radiologist from Derriford Hospital in Plymouth and Dr Phil Cook from the Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust in Truro, have been part of the core team since the project’s inception. The project involved the co-ordination of contributions of nearly 400 content authors, by eight specialist module editors – two of whom are consultant radiologists at Derriford, working with core R-ITI team to create the biggest e-learning project in Europe.

 Dr Dubbins, who was Vice President of the RCR during project development, said: “This project is becoming recognised across the world as one of the most exciting developments in medical education in more than a decade. We are proud that radiologists throughout the south west have made a major contribution.”

Consultant radiologist and head of training in Plymouth,  Dr Bruce Fox, explained: “The trainees have found the e-Learning Database an invaluable learning tool to supplement their radiology teaching. In the fullness of time, this is likely to become the focal point for the majority of their self-directed learning.

“As a trainer, this is an exciting and comprehensive tool for curriculum delivery that can be used as a stand alone learning tool or as a supplement to other material. For the first time, all trainees have a resource that reflects exactly the Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) curriculum.”

Second Year radiology specialist register, Dr Nanda Venkatanarasimha, has studied more than 170 sessions, spending upwards of 140 hours on e-learning already. Dr Venkatanarasimha said of the system: “An excellent learning facilitator with a wealth of radiology knowledge. It’s a tailored solution, which both supplements and reinforces the practical experience gained, through state-of-the-art technology. It not only tracks a trainee’s progress, but also brings instant measurability of their progress and results.”

Radiology Academy business manager, Anthony Martin, concluded: “The Peninsula Radiology Academy in Plymouth is proud to be at the forefront of this exciting new means of training radiologists. Consultant radiologists from Derriford and more widely from the south west have contributed their knowledge and experience to an electronic learning database that doctors across the UK can draw upon as they learn techniques and best practice.”