Background information
Initiatives in distance medical or paramedical training are few and far between in the Pacific. The groundwork was laid at the Pacific Telehealth Conference in 1998 for a regional approach to distance education, co-organised by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community and the Pacific Basin Medical Association.
Because of the geographical realities of the Pacific Island region, basic or continuing training opportunities for health professionals are sometimes limited. Funding constraints and human resource shortages can sometimes prevent staff from leaving their job to pursue a course of study or a training course overseas. In recent years, various distance education programmes have emerged, including those offered by the University of Guam, the University of Papua New Guinea, the Fiji School of Medicine and Solomon Islands.
Some curricula were presented at the Pacific Telehealth Conference. It appears that distance education makes it possible to reach more people at a lower unit cost, and students are happy to be able to study at their own speed, while remaining within their work environment.
Various proposals were put forward during the conference to make such distance education programmes more widely accessible. Firstly, distance education should include a properly structured curriculum, with continuous assessment and an overall evaluation leading to recognised qualifications. Course levels can range from basic training for a community health worker to post-doctoral medical training.
The training methods chosen will depend on local situations, target groups and curricula. New communication technologies such as Internet, electronic mail and even videoconferencing are also highly promising. Good-quality written teaching materials are essential, although at this time very limited and need to be developed.
An action plan was presented at the end of the discussions. The aim was to conduct a survey of distance education programmes and collect the results of experience available in the region, as well as identifying resource persons. The information collected is now available through this common regional Distance Education www site and database.
Pacific Telehealth Conference Report