Using Course Formats to Facilitate Pharmacy e-learning

A systematic review of e-learning’s efficacy in pharmacy education revealed that this method of instruction was effective in increasing long term knowledge.

However, this study evaluated pharmacy e-learning programs in undergraduate, postgraduate, and continuing professional development and noted that there was little to no evidence that e-learning improved skills or professional practice.

While the study is exciting for its confirmation that e-learning increases knowledge, more consideration must be taken to expand its ability to improve professional skills.

How to Use Your EthosCE LMS to Facilitate Pharmacy e-learning for CME

Your EthosCE LMS has a number of features that can greatly improve the success of your pharmacy e-learning. That said, the most useful feature is your ability to deliver courses in a variety of formats.

EthosCE supports courses in virtually any digital format: HTML, video, audio, Microsoft Office, Adobe Flash and PDF. You can also upload or link to courses produced by course authoring software such as Articulate or Adobe Presenter.

But how does this increase efficacy?

A study of multimedia formats for patient education found that taking advantage of multimedia formats allowed for “patients [to] access key types of information in any number of ways. Users can find basic information, view an animation, explore key elements interactively, or explore the content developed for healthcare professionals.”

By developing a course that provided varied methods for learning, the overall skills and knowledge of the learners increased much more than other methods. It stands to reason that a similar approach would be successful for CME learning.

Rich multimedia courses can increase the power of your e-learning program by taking advantage of the many ways that people interact with information. The courses can provide flexibility in approach and thus meet the needs of a variety of learning styles.

At EthosCE, we can help you create course content that appeals to a variety of learning styles. EthosCE is the industry-leading, SCORM-compliant learning management system designed to automate and modernize the delivery of continuing education in the health professions. We work closely with leading medical association, academic centers, and health system to optimize their technology infrastructure and create an easy-to-use and intuitive environment for learners and CME administrators alike. For more information about EthosCE, please contact us at 267-234-7401.