Abstract:

Med3 is a Public Consortium among University of Bologna, Public Healthcare Local Units and CINECA. Since its creation in 2004 Med3 published online courses to grant lifelong learning mainly for the healthcare professionals in charge at its own members. Until now Med3 is the only Italian organization fully consisting in Public Institutions’ partnership and delivering e-learning activities for the healthcare professionals national program of continuous medical education (CME). CME is compulsory by Italian law since 2002 and involves both physicians and all other healthcare professionals (nurses, obstetricians, technicians, etc)
The main goals of the Organization are:
- research new learning models for healthcare professionals and topics
- create proper technological platform that would be user friendly and the most comprehensive as possible
- create flexible, enforceble web portal and system to allow easy changes in ongoing developing law contest
- project, build and deliver online courses that fit both healthcare Organization’s needs, and healthcare professionals’ needs
- lower the costs for education in the Public Organizations through scalable economy
- create new professionals figures for building, tutoring and “translating” conventional medical teaching methods to ICT (Information and Communication Technology)
- urge a process for continuous improvement of teaching, involving both the University and the Public Healthcare Organizations, that are at the same time actors or stakeholders
Choosing e-learning has been a challenge due to the initial ICT knowledge of the personnel, needing progressive training. Moreover the challenge involved the participating Institution in order to overcome the initial difficulties encountered in coordinate all actors. Projecting, developing and sharing educational programs and introducing shared practice patterns still needs a continuous effort to adapt processes at the different healthcare environment.
We experienced the publication of more than 67 courses, with different levels of interactivity on more then 30,000 healthcare professionals. Data review shows the effectiveness and efficiency and the high approval of the entire model both for professionals and Organizations.

Keywords:

e-learning, continuous medical education (CME), healthcare.