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Development of electronic learning courses for surgical training of animal research personnel

Lab Animal volume 38, pages 295–304 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

The animal research community comprises members from a wide variety of backgrounds, some of whom must learn basic surgical skills. Though demand for animal research personnel who have surgical skills is increasing, surgical training opportunities are becoming more scarce. Electronic learning or e-learning platforms can be used as an adjunct to hands-on surgical training. Course developers can adapt these e-learning courses to fit the needs of participants who have varying levels of expertise. The authors outline the steps involved in developing an effective e-learning surgical course. They also describe how to use various equipment and software products to help implement e-learning courses. Though the authors focus on developing surgical courses, course developers could apply the general steps outlined by the authors when developing any e-learning course.

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Figure 1: Four main types of concept mapping.

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Acknowledgements

J.K. was supported by the SERCA award (#K01 RR019677) from the National Center for Research Resources.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Veterinary Bioscience Institute, Harleysville, PA

    Szczepan W. Baran

  2. Drexel University, College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA

    Szczepan W. Baran

  3. Harleysville Veterinary Hospital, Harleysville, PA

    Elizabeth J. Johnson

  4. Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA

    Matthew A. Stephens

  5. Department of Clinical Studies-NBC, University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine, Kennett Square, PA

    James Kehler

Authors
  1. Szczepan W. Baran
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  4. James Kehler
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Szczepan W. Baran.

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Competing interests

S.W.B. and E.J.J. are co-founders of the Veterinary Bioscience Institute, a for-profit company that provides online and mobile on-site surgical and biomethodology training for the LAS community. J.K. is a member of the Veterinary Bioscience Institute's Advisory Board, a volunteer position. M.A.S. has no affiliation with the Veterinary Bioscience Institute.

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Baran, S., Johnson, E., Stephens, M. et al. Development of electronic learning courses for surgical training of animal research personnel. Lab Anim 38, 295–304 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/laban0909-295

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