Assuring Excellence in Distance Pharmaceutical Education

American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 2003 by Hunter, Tracy S, Deziel-Evans, Lisa, Marsh, Wallace A

In Figure 1, Same Time/Same Place describes traditional instruction occurring within a classroom. The upper right quadrant (Different Time/Same Place) refers to a common arrangement in which students are not geographically separated, but instruction is offered at different times. An example of a Different Time/Same Place situation in pharmacy education would be the use of multiple sections or laboratories in a course. In the Same Time/Different Place scenario (bottom left quadrant), instruction occurs in "real time" or synchronous mode; although students are not committed to one place or place-bound. In these situations participants engage in such activities as chat rooms and videoconferencing.

The bottom right quadrant of the framework (Different Time/Different Place) is commonly referred to as asynchronous or delayed-time distance education. Unconstrained by time or place, participants independently select where and when they want to engage in educational activities. Some believe that only this quadrant Different Time/Different Place - truly is distance education", however each mode has strengths, weaknesses, and applications to achieving desired outcomes. Selection of mode should be based on the resources of the institution, the needs of the student population, and ability to achieve desired outcomes. To achieve desired learning objectives in a professional program such as pharmacy, a combination of educational modes will be required. Although the four quadrant grid works well for analyzing and discussing delivery arrangements used in distance education, it does not lend itself to the current hybrid trend of hybrid programs which integrate several distance delivery modalities to optimize learning outcomes.12-15

Distance Education In Health Care Programs

In general, health care educators have been slow to adopt distributed learning16, in part due to the need for clinical training, but distance education methods have supplemented the training of medical and allied health students and practicing professionals since the 1960s.'7 Quality clinical experience has been the hallmark of the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) curriculum. Distance students will require geographically convenient clinical sites. Difficulties are sure to arise in terms of securing sites, quality assurance, and competition with established regional schools. Distance technologies such as video streaming and videoconferencing augment both nursing and pharmacy education.12,18,19 Experiential coordinators have adopted these technologies to conduct clinical site visits to efficiently monitor remote practice training sites.20

Only recently has educational technology advanced such that full degree programs can be implemented. Distance delivery is being used to provide courses in gerontology, midwifery, nutrition, dental hygiene, medical informatics, and health law.21-26 Distance courses are also currently incorporated into nursing, and allied health curricula generally at a graduate level. Allied health schools are offering online masters and PhD level courses in physical therapy, occupational therapy, medical sciences and physician assistant programs.27-30 Nursing programs are following suit by offering the opportunity for registered nurses to obtain a bachelor of science in nursing by distance means.31,32 Excelsior College, a virtual university based out of New York, provides an Associate degree in nursing completely online.33 In Australia, a program has been effective in providing general practitioners a certificate in psychiatry with over 200 practitioners enrolled from 1998-2001.34 In spite of training obstacles that need to be addressed, online delivery of content is also expected to play a larger role in the future education of dental students in the United States and Canada.35