Abstracts

Rationale: Formal training in electroencephalography (EEG) is scarce in some Latin Americans countries. To overcome the distance barrier a web-based course in EEG was developed. In 2005, a web-based program for the teaching of EEG was started by the E-Health, Center for Education (Internet-based) and simulation from the Division of Education of the Fundación Santa Fe de Bogotá, in Colombia. We describe the preliminary results of the use of this novel strategy.Methods: The course was accessed by physicians invited by the center in an initial pilot period of training. For subsequent users a registration and a fee were obtained. The course is given in Spanish language and can be found at the URL: http://www.e-health.edu.co/cursos_elearning/electroencefalografia.php . It consists of 12 modules, including EEG technology, normal EEG, activation procedures, variants and artifacts, abnormal EEG, EEG in coma, the epilepsies, the EEG report, video-EEG, magnetoencephalography, and a final module of clinical cases, vignettes, glossary of terminology, and questions and answers. After each module the participant had to complete a post-test to assess early retention. At the end of the course, a survey (using a rating scale) was given to all participants in order to evaluate structure, content, and delivery of information. Results: 382 physicians from four different countries (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela) accessed the course between August of 2005 and December of 2006. 85% of participants gave a maximum score to the structure of the course, 75% to the content, and 92% to the delivery of the information. Conclusions: The high number of participants indicates the need to implement similar approaches in the teaching of EEG in areas of the world with no access to training programs. Online education is an effective and feasible method to deliver EEG training to a widely disperse professional community. The positive feedback indicated that this technique has great acceptance. Further evaluation is needed.