The ongoing crisis in medical device education for healthcare professionals : breaking the viscous circle through online learning

Abstract

A well-documented issue in healthcare is the unsatisfactory level of competence in the effective and safe use of medical devices among practicing healthcare professionals. The roots of the problem lie in the fact that medical devices are developing at a much faster rate than the requisite educational provision. As a result, undergraduate healthcare students carry out their medical device training under the supervision of practitioners-trainers who are themselves not sufficiently competent, creating a viscous circle where lack of competence breeds further incompetence. This circle can only be broken if the practitioner-trainers themselves are educated. However, owing to clinical workload the latter often cannot attend face-to-face educational programs. The problem can be resolved through online learning. This article expounds on the issue and describes an online programme by which the present author is attempting to address the problem.