title: Cardiology grand rounds: effect of videoconferencing on educational value.
abstract: We studied four cardiology grand rounds transmitted by videoconference from a tertiary care centre to four other hospitals in eastern Canada. We collected data with evaluation questionnaires and by video recording participants at the receiving-site and the presentation they received from the presenting site. Receiving-site participants (n=20) rated their satisfaction with all domains significantly lower than did presenting-site participants (n=49). The greatest difference in ratings was in the ability to see slides (receiving sites 2.6/5, presenting site 4.6/5). Review of video recordings revealed that slides showing material copied from print sources was difficult to read at receiving sites. While 56% of discussion time was devoted to questions from receiving sites, participants there rated their ability to participate in discussion lower than those at the presenting site (3.9/5 vs 4.4/5). This may be because some parts of the discussion from the presenting site were not transmitted. Receiving-site participants rated the educational value of the rounds lower than their presenting-site colleagues (3.9/5 vs 4.4/5) but answered a similar percentage of knowledge questions correctly (85 vs 89%).
authors.affiliation: Office of Continuing Medical Education, Department of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, and Cardiology Department, Cape Breton Regional Hospital, Sydney, Canada. Michael.Allen@dal.ca
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mann
authors.forename: Cathy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kells
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ferrier
authors.forename: Nicolette
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: O'Connor
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: MacDonald
mesh_terms: D002309:Cardiology / Q000191:economics / Q000193:education*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D020380:Needs Assessment / Q000458:organization & administration; D009674:Nova Scotia; D014741:Video Recording / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D049269:Videoconferencing / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data