Abstract:

Introduction. In the Department of Surgery of the Faculty of Medicine of the Complutensis University of Madrid (UCM), they have existed in the last years, chronic problems to be able to be present at the classes of the Doctorate, derived from the difficulty of the students to make compatible these studies with the labour activity that they realize in other hospitals, as well of the difficulty for the displacement of many students from more or less distant localities to Madrid. To solve these problems it was decided to apply in this subject the advantages that provide the new technologies of the information and communication applied to the education (Tele-education, e-learning), and fundamentally the geographical and the hourly independence.
Objetives. There are analyzed the structure and the functioning of the subject of the Doctorate of Surgery of the Faculty of Medicine, titled "New technologies and forms of management in surgery", given of form on-line, with no physical presence, in the Virtual Campus (VC) of the UCM, during the last 3 academic courses (2005-2008), and that 79 students they have studied it, as well as to expose the opinion, on these concrete aspects, on the part of these students, who have dealed it during this period of time.
Material and methods. The structure and the design of the subject have been created by the director of the subject using the different elements of the computer tool WebCT (Web Course Tools): creation and edition of the different types of pages, elaboration of examinations and surveys, administration of files, banks of images, management and students' follow-up, electronic shared blackboard, personal e-mail, calendar of activities, forums of meeting, places of chat (chats), etc. The opinion of the students has been gathered in a Survey by 18 questions: 14 closed ones, 1 opened one and 3 mixed ones.
Results. A Virtual Classroom has been created by a Home Page with 14 sections set by icons with links to their respective contents: ("Aims of the Subject", "Program of the Subject", "Development of the Subject”, "Thematic Content", "Tutorships", " Information about the Professor", "General Forum", "E-mail", "Calendar", "Examinations", "Tutorials", “Qualification Exams and Final Note", "Survey of Opinion" and finally the listing of all the "Students of the Subject". To accede to the VC the student needs to register and to obtain user's name and password. The totality of the students they have referred to have difficulties to be physically present at the classes of the subject. The 95% of the students has computer knowledge: Media (75%) or Advanced (20%). The totality has managed Well (35 %) or Very well (65 %) with the Virtual Classroom of this subject. No student has had to ask for help. The 95 % has not difficulties to realize the examinations. With regard to the educational efficiency of the subject, 95 % thinks that it is: Equal (30 %), Better (47 %) or Much better (18 %) than that of other subjects realized of form with physical presence.
Conclusions. The on-line education in the subjects of the Doctorate is the solution adapted to eliminate the difficulties that have recounted the totality of the students to have to be present at the classes of the above mentioned subjects. The Virtual Classroom is easily manageable and the educational efficiency is equal or better than in classes with real presence.

Keywords:

e-learning, on-line surgery doctorate, webct system, virtual campus ucm.