Distance learning courses in occupational medicine - Methods and good practice.

The need for training in Occupational Medicine in India is well known. The majority of company doctors cannot leave their work and join a residence program. The question which course delivery mode - residential or blended or distance education — is appropriate to teach working company doctors is therefore an urgent one. Adult education: Adults learners — in contrast to young students — have a lot prior experiences and knowledge which they want to use. They have tight personal schedules and are very practical and goal-oriented. They usually have a fulltime work. Adults need more guides than lecturers. Immediate use, practice by doing and discussion groups are the most powerful tools in teaching. Lecturing seems to be the most ineffective teaching method. Distance education is widely used already in teaching occupational health & safety and occupational medicine (OS H) in other countries. Almost 100% of all post-graduate teaching in occupational medicine is done by distance education in the UK. A "blended" course model seems appropriate for Occupational Medicine teaching. It has contact phases and self-learning phases The Indian Association of Occupational Health could play a leading role in expending high quality teaching in Occupational Medicine. These activities would contribute to the Government's goals to strengthen Occupational Health in India. This article discusses distance education and online-teaching as one viable way to deliver high quality training in Occupational Medicine to working company doctors in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]