Information and Communication Technologies in Postgraduate Courses at Healthcare Institutions: Evidence and Stereotypes

ObjectiveThe current state of public healthcare calls for innovations in postgraduate courses. Emphasis on lifelong education, networking performance and more flexible links between the area of teaching and actual healthcare services all pose a major challenge to education institutions. Teaching methods are being redefined and syllabus structures revised. But while ther has been much discussion in the literature on the capacity of ICTs to bring about innovation and collaboration, there is very little real evidence to back this idea. This study presents a pilot test of an instrument which is being developed to allow the assessment of everyday uses of ICTs in teaching postgraduate healthcare courses. MethodsThrough the Internet, a Likert-scale survey was conducted on 350 teachers of a postgraduate education centre in Barcelona, Spain, evaluating needs, beliefs and comfort with technology as well as teacher participation in networks. ResultsThe 89 respondents (25%) took, on average, ten minutes to fill out the questionnaire. The use of technology was instrumental, with little emphasis on resources related to innovation and networks. ConclusionsThe results are discussed from the points of view of the validation of the instrument and the apparent dissonance between the presented data and the strong bet on the potential of information and communication technologies.