What is the role of Massive open online courses (MOOC) in continuing professional development (CPD) of healthcare professionals?

Problem

Continuing professional development (CPD) is essential for maintenance and improvement of knowledge and skills of general practitioners. One area of CPD relevant to healthcare professionals is the supervision of junior colleagues. A positive relationship between the supervisor and trainee can be an important factor determining success of a placement. A variety of factors play into this positive relationship, one being a supervisor’s approach to constructive feedback and their preparedness to supervise. The general medical council (GMC) now recommend Clinical Supervisors are formally trained but face to face training is not always feasible. Technology enhanced learning could assist, and massive open online courses (MOOCs) providing a platform for content delivery as well as discussion could be a suitable option for busy GPs, however, little to nil is known about the impact of MOOCs on learning and transferral of learning into practice. This study aims to address this gap in understanding and clarify the role of MOOCs in CPD for primary care.

Approach

A qualitative study using an iterative approach. Methods will include a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. A questionnaire will be used to identify some of the learner demographics on the MOOC. Semi-structured interviews will be used to gain a learner account of their experience of using the MOOC and whether it has influenced their practice. Interviews are an appropriate form of data collection in this setting, as participants are likely to come from various geographical locations and therefore telephone interviews would be more practical.

Findings

The interim findings suggest that MOOCs are a valuable interface for providing GPs with CPD in the area of clinical supervision. Inductive thematic analysis is in the early stages at present but highlights areas positive experiences in terms of usability and flexibility with the mode of learning. Interviews suggest the role of discussion and social learning on the MOOC is key to enriching learning, providing interdisciplinary learning and a community of practice.

Consequences

With increasing demands for GPs, MOOCs could be used as a method of delivering CPD moving forward. This is the first study to follow up on learners experience of MOOCs after a period of time from completion to better understand the impact on higher levels of learning.