Comparison of oncology nurse and physician use of the Internet for continuing education.

Background: In the past 10 years, there has been a dramatic increase in published literature on the topic of Internet use by healthcare professionals. Learners and organizations providing grants to the continuing education (CE) division of a medical education and publishing company have expressed increasing interest in the area of Internet CE. To quantify and analyze this trend, the company began using surveys to evaluate this growing area of interest.

Method: Since 1998, annual surveys at the annual meetings of the Oncology Nursing Society and the American Society of Clinical Oncology were used to determine trends in educational use of the Internet for CE.

Findings: Internet use and frequency of use, including use of the Internet for CE among both nurses and physicians, have been increasing. When asked what would make these professionals more likely to use the Internet for CE, both indicated making the activities low cost or free and easier access.

Conclusions: Nurses and physicians are looking to the Internet for quick access to reliable information, thus challenging CE educators to develop ways to implement Internet CE activities quickly. Ongoing needs assessment of target audiences and evaluation of the effectiveness of Internet CE is essential to optimizing the role of this educational format for healthcare professionals.