Broadband learning for doctors

Has huge potential but needs funding for high quality content

Broadband internet has finally come of age. It's changing the way we listen to music and radio, and it means we can watch television on demand. What could broadband internet do for medical education?

Early signs suggest that rapid change is underway, led by the learners. In the United States 14% of the credit hours for continuous medical education in 2004 were obtained online, double the figure for two years before.1 In this country BMJ Learning has tapped into this demand, attracting more than 60 000 registered users in less than three years.2

Broadband could offer learners in medicine the next generation of online learning: the prospect of high quality interactive video and audio alongside traditional text and photographs. Audiovisual materials would bring many advantages: they are easy to watch, add realism, and can enable learning of procedural and interpersonal skills. Younger doctors are digital natives and will increasingly expect such materials as the norm.

But …