www.uro101.com : A New Online Educational Resource In Practice

1. No. 107 www.uro101.com: A New Online Educational Resource In Practice KesleyPedler , Thomas Jarvis and Prem RashidDepartment of Urology, Port Macquarie Base Hospital, New South Wales. • Results • The website was trialled in 5 NSW hospitals by 6 tutors. 31 students participated with a range of tutorial sizes from 1 to 12 students. 100% of tutors and 39% of medical students completed the online survey. • Survey results for tutors • All tutors found the website easy to use and agreed that Uro101 made delivering the tutorial easier. All 6 tutors indicated that they would refer to Uro101 again when giving medical student tutorials. Introduction Medical student education in urology is important. Approximately 40% of graduates will enter fields such as general practice and emergency medicine and will need to be able to diagnose common urological illnesses, instigate treatment and know when to refer patients. (1, 2) Formal teaching in urology for medical students in Australia has diminished and many will graduate without undertaking a clinical urology attachment. At present, urology teaching is predominantly delivered by urologists or their registrars in tutorials or during clinical attachments. In the hospital environment, teaching responsibilities often fall to urology trainees and non-urology trained tutors. Some web-based modules are available to students through universities but not to urologists or registrars(3). Randomized control trials show that the use of web-based teaching as an adjunct to clinical experiences can significantly improve learning(4). Feedback from tutors ‘Easy navigation, concise resources’ ‘I like that it is from a local reliable source- therefore material is relevant to local hospital practice and gives me confidence in teaching from it’ ‘Well formulated and comprehensive’ • Survey results for students • All student respondents indicated that: • Uro101 identified important learning objectives • the website easy to use • they would refer to Uro101 again in the future • they would recommend the website to a colleague • 83% of students felt Uro101 made their study time more efficient. Aim The goals of this project were to: Develop a comprehensive and fully operational educational website Evaluate its effectiveness as a teaching tool from the perspective of both student and tutor Feedback from students ‘A very practical approach to urology’ ‘The information is presented in a concise and easy-to-read format, and seems to be focused on what we will need to know early in our careers’ ‘Excellent layout - clear, easy to use, relevant information provided’ ‘Not too much or too little information - just the right amount for being able to remember it.’ ‘Much easier than sifting through textbooks’’ Methods Online resources for Uro101 were developed to cover 12 core urology topics: A written summary, a sample powerpoint presentation and a quiz were created for each topic. The website was used to deliver a single tutorial by a urologist or registrar regularly involved in medical student teaching. The website was evaluated by participants in an anonymous online questionnaire. Uro101 has been developed to encourage better ‘teaching on the run’ and to provide a reliable resource that can be accessed at any time or place. It is also smartphone accessible. Uro101 aims to indicate important urological learning objectives to medical students. Uro101 has been designed to be a collaborative project where anyone involved with medical student teaching can access the material and in turn, make suggestions on how the website can be improved. It does not aim to replace urology teaching that already exists nor is it a replacement for exposure to clinical urology. As urologists and trainees we have a responsibility to contribute to medical student education in our specialty and in doing so, help increase the profile of the specialty as a progressive one forging educational endeavors. Tutor selects tutorial topic from Uro101 website • References • Shah J. Billington R, Manson J and Vale J. Undergraduate urology: a survey of current provisions and guidelines for a core curriculum. BJU International 2002, 89 , 327-330 • Kerfoot B, Masser B, DeWolf W. The Continued Decline of Formal Urological Education of Medical Students in the United States: Does it Matter? J. Urol. Vol 175, 2243-2248. June 2006. • Fritsch U. Hayne pioneers web-based teaching in urology. UWA University News, 6th August. http://www.news.uwa.edu.au/200908061499/edcentre/hayne-pioneers-web-based-teaching-urology. • Kerfoot B. Baker H. Jackson T et al A Multi-Institutional Randomized Controlled Trial of Adjuvant Web-Based Teaching to Medical Students Academic Medicine, Vol 8, No. 3/ March 2006 p224- 230 Pre-reading summary notes issued to students by tutor Tutorial delivered using powerpoint presentation from website Evaluation via anonymous online survey Survey for tutors Survey for medical students Conclusion www.uro101.com is a relevant, easy to use educational resource that provides benefit for both medical students and their tutors. For access, search uro101 on Google™; username: urology, password: urotrial. Poster presentation sponsor