Webinars in The Medical Sector?Does this type of e-learning work?

Andrzej Marszałek MD, PhD / Marta Eichstaedt

Who we are?

Andrzej Marszałek MD, PhDMedical Director at Synevo in Poland

Client and sponsor of the webinar project

Marta EichstaedtManaging Director at Webcomm

External company organising webinars

Presentation Agenda

Brief information about the case study Technical issues Choice of subject Choice of speakers How to prepare speakers for a webinar? Key takeaways Are webinars an appropriate

e-learning tool in medicine?

Brief information about the case study

Series of webinars for doctors and laboratory

analysts

Organiser: Synevo, a chain of medical laboratories

Project goal: to disseminate knowledge on

modern laboratory diagnostics. Training activity

as well as content marketing.

Frequency: 4 times a year

Start of the project: 2012

The case study we want to talk about

Technical issues

Marta

Invitations sent via GetResponse to own data base

+ info on the website. Both include a registration form.

Confirmation with link to ClickWebinarSent via GetResponse

Reminder with link to ClickWebinarSent via GetResponse

Before the webinar

Marta

ModeratorSpeaker

Expert from Synevo

During the webinar

Marta

Moderated chat helps us manage questions

Use it when you expect a lot of questions and / or questions may be "unrelated to the subject".

Marta

Visualize questions to be answered – use whiteboard

Marta

After the webinar

Marta

Choice of Subject

Andrzej

The topic of the webinar MUST include aspects of what is new in diagnostics in Poland and recognised worldwide.

Some examples: preeclampsia, in-depth diagnosis of lipid disorders, excerpts from legislation: recommendations – HCV, HPV; explanation of diagnostic difficulties: toxoplasmosis, ovary cancer.

Andrzej

During the webinar you cannot restate obvious facts or those from generally known sources.

Andrzej

The subject must be closely linked to the lecturer, his working profile (the audience recognises studied behaviour straight away).

Andrzej

Choice of Speakers

People fascinated with the subject concerned; participants can sense this.

Andrzej

People who are experts and practitioners in their field.

Andrzej

People blessed with a so-called ‘radio voice’ – apart from the speakers’ grasp of the subject presented, they should also be experienced in giving lectures.

Andrzej

How to prepare speakers for a webinar?

Short online training takes ca. 1½ hours.

The training should include: virtual classroom basics, how to cooperate and communicate with the moderator, how to communicate with the participants, how an online group behaves, guidelines for the presentation.

Marta

Even skilled speakers suffer from stress in new, unfamiliar situations.

Based on personal experience: even the skilled speakers suffer from stress in new, unknown situations. The inability to see the audience’s reaction is even more stressful than the traditional lecture.

Key takeaways

Be patient – if the webinars are interesting, then step by step your audience will grow.

Persuade (or help) the speaker to prepare a visually interesting presentation.

Marta

Do not make the webinars too long – 1 to 1½ h is ideal.

Plan the time for a Q&A section.

Marta

Do not stress the speaker out by forcing them to perform in front of a video camera – a photo is enough.

Decide whether you are going to award diplomas.

Marta

Only a few participants use mobile devices for participating in our webinars.

Additional technical advice

Use a registration form in order to know how many participants to expect.

If it is your first webinar, start working on it 5-6 weeks before the deadline (do you have a database of potential participants?).

Acquaint yourself very well with the webinar software (e.g. do you know what it means when a program switches into emergency mode?).

Make sure your computer is fast, in good working order, and that you have a good headset.

Open the virtual classroom one hour before the webinar and open the actual webinar 10 minutes before the planned starting time.

Are webinars an appropriate e-learning tool in medicine?

Yes, they are

Especially for groups with more spare time than doctors, as is the case among laboratory analysts

For participants who prefer to attend a lecture at a time of their choosing

They provide a unique opportunity for inviting an expert to get involved in training

Webinars enable quick training for a large group

Yes, they are

Thank you

Contact:

Marta EichstaedtTel. + 48 22 389 61 51, Mail: marta.eich@webcomm.eu

Strona: www.webcomm.eu