Interactive virtual seminars in pediatric radiology: Introducing new paradigms for medical education

Dear Sir

Considering telemedicine as a useful and necessary tool for improving quality of healthcare, Brazilian Government created two projects which provide support to teleducation and teleconsulting. In this context, a monthly pediatric radiology telesession program was inserted as a medical activity for education and professional recertification. This letter intends to demonstrate the experience of virtual seminars using videoconference and webconference in association, connecting remote health units to Brazilian and foreign university hospitals with themes related to pediatric radiology, a subspecialty with low professionals around the world.

From May 2010 to December 2011, three thematic virtual seminars were held by interactive live teleconferences. The first concerned infections and urinary tract disorders, the second was about liver transplantation, and the third about image and oncology. The last one had collaborative coordination by the Institute of Integral Medicine Professor Fernando Figueira in Brazil and the Saint Jude Children's Research Hospital in the United States. Limitations, such as time zone differences, were eliminated by prior disclosure of all activities and support for simultaneous translation provide when necessary.

The remote participants using webconferencing interacted, sending questions and comments by chat and the participants using videoconferencing interacted directly by audio, both live and for as long as may be necessary, without a maximum number of participants. The average connection time was 3.5 uninterrupted hours. The average number of points connected was 13 points for videoconference and 48 by webconference, with 256 participants, including students, medical doctors and radiologists. The quality of audio and video were approved for all the participants.

This program has the support of the Brazilian Federal Government and attends the requirements for academic qualifications from the universities and the Brazilian Medical Association.

Distance education programs are emerging in the field of education (Ellaway & Masters 2008), and many doctors and medical students make use of this tool to enhance and update their knowledge, with great acceptance. However, much of the material available on the Internet is merely informative, without interactivity and without the accreditation of universities (Gotwald et al. 2000). In this background, a new methodology, like interactive online seminars using the association of webconference and videoconference is of great importance, providing an efficient tool for medical training and recertification, even in remote areas, mainly, in a subspecialty practiced by few doctors, like pediatric radiology.