Bland CJ. VanLoy W. Wersal L: Lessons learned from a distance-based consulting program to assist faculty development projects.  Acad Med 2001;76:776-790. 
Changes in faculty roles and demographics necessitate a re-examination of the types of professional development opportunities offered in academic institutions. A distance-based consulting program was designed to assist faculty development projects as they progress through all stages of faculty development: needs assessment, project design, implementation, and, in particular, program evaluation and dissemination of results (i.e., presentations and published articles). The progress of 17 faculty development projects in primary care educational sites that received assistance in the United States and Canada was tracked over two years. Three factors were identified as having the most impact on the success of faculty development projects: (1) funds committed to and designated for faculty development; (2) funded, protected time for at least one person to implement the faculty development initiative; and (3) an environment capable of supporting faculty development initiatives (e.g., no major budget shortfall, few faculty transitions, a strong mission, no threat of mergers). The authors describe the institutional characteristics that facilitated project success, assess the usefulness of distance-based consulting efforts, and offer recommendations for future distance-based consulting programs. They conclude by noting that the personal touch (i.e., one-on-one contact with consultants) is what is most appreciated, and that excellent one-on-one, in-person assistance may be inherently more effective than even the best-run distance-based consulting.

Curran VR, Hoekman T, Gulliver W, et. al: Web-based continuing medical education (I): field test of a hybrid computer-mediated instructional delivery system.  Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions 2000;20:97-105. 
This article provides a brief overview of the Web as an instructional delivery platform and discusses its strengths and weaknesses as a potential medium for enhancing distance learning opportunities for rural and remote physicians. It also describes an innovative hybrid instructional delivery model that was field tested by the Telemedicine Centre to determine its efficiency and effectiveness for providing Web-based instruction. A hybrid model merges the Web and CD-ROMs to use several of the more valuable instructional components of Web-based education (i.e., multimedia, interactive forms, hypermedia, and computer-mediated communications). The results of the field test indicate that the hybrid delivery model was an efficient means for delivering computer-mediated continuing medical education instruction on dermatologic office procedures to a group of rural physicians in low telecommunication bandwidth regions.

Campbell CA: Distance learning in the health professions: on the verge of collapse or poised to soar?  Journal of Allied Health 2001;30:30-34.
Distance education provides universal access to education. While the issue of access to education is seemingly resolved, the question "what is the best way to teach?" remains. To ensure excellence in distance learning, a disciplined rethinking of teaching and a reordering of academic priorities is essential. If consumer confidence in the academy is to be restored, there must be a return to collegial leadership in: defining institutional purpose and resource commitment, improving teacher competence, honing curricular content, perfecting interactive learning, selecting students, and designing outcome measures for both teaching and learning. Then, and only then, will distance learning be ready for "prime time."

Teyhen DS, Flynn T, Allison S: Use of webboards for distance learning:a physical therapy model. Military Medicine 2001;166:311-313.
In today's world of ever-increasing knowledge and technology, mastering the use of information is critical for success. U.S. Army physical therapists have successfully used the Knowledge Management Network as a tool to foster communication, education, and training. The model outlined in this article can serve both as a model for promoting distance learning and as a success story of how to merge today's technology with the medical community to improve productivity and communication.