A new online surgical training programme was presented yesterday by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and Intuition, an Irish-owned company specialising in e-learning.
BeST, or electronic Basic Surgical Training, described as the first of its kind, provides surgical trainees with an interactive virtual university through the Internet.
The system aims to incorporate classroom training in an interactive environment with student-to-student and student-to-teacher communication as well as combined audio-visual simulations of medical situations to test trainees.
The system's development involved a multi-million-pound investment by the RCSI and Intuition, which is owned by financier Mr Dermot Desmond, over the last 18 months.
Trainees will be able to access interactive training as well as tutorials and tests on the system. They will then be able to apply their learning to lifelike scenarios, with simulations and realistic case studies.
Dean of postgraduate surgical studies at the RCSI Mr Oscar Traynor said the system broke the physical boundaries of medical education as well as complementing existing options.
He said: "In addition to in-hospital training and practical surgical skill courses at the college, doctors can now gain access to a structured and tutored training programme without leaving the hospital to which they are posted."
The system will provide mock exams, access to the RCSI's electronic library, a moderated bulletin board for global discussions with doctors, and feedback from tutors via e-mail.
The new programme allows young doctors, who often work long hours, to access training when it suits them. It obviates the need for many surgical trainees to travel from around the State to Dublin to do theoretical training.
BeST's 5,000 web pages of information, training, tutorials and interactive programmes have been developed by more than 100 surgical and medical contributors.
The initial market for the product is surgical trainees within the RCSI's basic surgical training programme, but large markets exist in Britain, Europe, the Middle East and Far East.
