gms | German Medical Science

Introduction: Innovative improvement in a medical curriculum needs adequate learning resources. During the conception of the integrated curriculum iMED, it was evident, that the classic textbook contents would not be sufficient for the curricular requirements. In 2013 the development of a web based eLearning platform was started as a project on its own, termed iMED Textbook, supported by the Ministry of Science, Research and Equalization Hamburg (BWFG). As this concept is unique in Germany, no comparable literature or data are available.

Objectives: Our goal is a high-level coverage of all relevant clinical plus preclinical contents in each learning module of iMED. This requires integration of 8 to 16 subjects per module. Moreover, the best possible actuality of knowledge, a high grade of interactivity and supporting materials are major aims of our project.

Materials & Methods: The technical base is a Content Management System (Typo3). The editorial contents are originated by licensed ebooks in cooperation with Elsevier publishing company. Additionally, we integrate direct links to: Moodle platform, clinical guidelines, science publications or videos. As read-out for use and (consumer) satisfaction, hit rates and satisfaction (via electronic questionnaire) are acquired in each module.

Results: Actually there are 9 complete iMED modules available with nearly 15.000 pages. In the years 2013 to 2016 the peak values of daily hit rates ranged from 7.500 to 18.000. In these three years the consumer satisfaction was between 50% and 91.8%. Several rounds of evaluation resulted in significantly improved contents regarding didactic setting and fit to actual class contents.

Conclusion: iMED Textbook offers a superb tailored, integrative curricular learning platform. To guarantee the best possible actuality, completeness, and consumer satisfaction, the contents are dynamically adapted. In the next three years we will integrate modular self-assessments, interactive clinical cases and more medical video material. Taken together, iMED Textbook already is an innovative online platform, but aims to enhance its character incorporating multimedia elements and interactivity.