Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Videoconferencing Technology to Facilitate a Pilot Training Course in Advanced Psychopharmacology for Psychiatrists

  • In Brief Report
  • Published:
Academic Psychiatry Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objective

Psychopharmacology requires practitioners to continually upgrade knowledge and skills, but attendance at live continuing medical education events presents many barriers. In addition, technology has generated new learning approaches. In response, a videoconference-based course on psychopharmacology was developed and evaluated for feasibility and acceptability. Specific goals included whether learners would engage and whether the technology would work well for both learners and instructors. Additional aims included providing guideline-concordant psychopharmacology training, enhancing patient safety, and fostering case discussion.

Methods

The course used BlueJeans® videoconferencing technology. Each of the six weekly sessions was taught by a facilitator and a speaker. Every class incorporated a 1-h interactive didactic presentation, followed by 1 h for case reviews. Topics included six major psychiatric disorders, managing key drug interactions, and pharmacogenomics. Three types of online self-report evaluations were conducted—individual session evaluation, overall evaluation, and faculty speaker evaluation.

Results

Nineteen participants enrolled, with 85% of respondents reporting course objectives were met as “very good” or “excellent.” Moreover, 92% of respondents rated the course as “very good” or “excellent.” Sixty percent of the faculty were “somewhat satisfied” and 40% were “extremely satisfied” with the videoconferencing tool. Qualitative responses from both participants and faculty were positive overall.

Conclusions

This course provides preliminary evidence that an online, live longitudinal course in psychopharmacology is both acceptable and effective, both for CME learners and teachers. The authors plan to disseminate this model of CME to other institutions while extending the reach of the present course to more diverse practitioners.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Results from the 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: detailed tables. Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality: Rockville; 2017.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Depression and other common mental disorders: global health estimates. World Health Organization: Geneva; 2017.

  3. Olfson M, Blanco C, Wang S, Laje G, Correll CU. National trends in the mental health care of children, adolescents, and adults by office-based physicians. JAMA Psychiatry. 2014;71(1):81–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Rousmaniere T, Abbass A, Frederickson J, Henning I, Taubner S. Videoconference for psychotherapy training and supervision: two case examples. Am J Psychother. 2014;68(2):231–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. O’Regan K, Marsden P, Sayers G, Morrissey M, Hegarty H, Allen M, et al. Videoconferencing of a national program for residents on evidence-based practice: early performance evaluation. J Am Coll Radiol. 2010;7(2):138–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Kuhn E, Hugo E. Technology-based blended learning to facilitate psychiatry resident training in prolonged exposure (PE) therapy for PTSD. Acad Psychiatry. 2017;41(1):121–4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Yellowlees PM, Shore J. Telepsychiatry and Health Technologies [Internet]. [cited 2018 Jul 23]. Available from: https://www.appi.org/Telepsychiatry_and_Health_Technologies.

  8. Allen M, Sargeant J, Mann K, Fleming M, Premi J. Videoconferencing for practice-based small-group continuing medical education: feasibility, acceptability, effectiveness, and cost. J Contin Educ Heal Prof. 2003;23(1):38–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Miller PA, Huijbregts M, French E, Taylor D, Reinikka K, Berezny L, et al. Videoconferencing a stroke assessment training workshop: effectiveness, acceptability, and cost. J Contin Educ Heal Prof. 2008;28(4):256–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Huang K-J, Cen G, Qiu Z-J, Jiang T, Cao J, Fu C-Y. Application of international videoconferences for continuing medical education programs related to laparoscopic surgery. Telemed J E Health. 2014;20(2):157–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Blue Jeans Network [Internet]. Blue Jeans Network. [cited 2018 Aug 14]. Available from: https://www.bluejeans.com

  12. Davis D, O’Brien MA, Freemantle N, Wolf FM, Mazmanian P, Taylor-Vaisey A. Impact of formal continuing medical education: do conferences, workshops, rounds, and other traditional continuing education activities change physician behavior or health care outcomes? JAMA. 1999;282(9):867–74.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Dixon J. Evaluation criteria in studies of continuing education in the health professions: a critical review and a suggested strategy. Eval Health Prof. 1978;1(2):47–65.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Snow J, Mann M. Qualtrics survey software: handbook for research professionals. Qualtrics Labs, Inc; 2013.

  15. Parker K, Parikh SV. Applying Prochaska’s model of change to needs assessment, programme planning and outcome measurement. J Eval Clin Pract. 2001;7(4):365–71.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Kennedy SH, Lam RW, McIntyre RS, Tourjman SV, Bhat V, Blier P, et al. Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) 2016 Clinical Guidelines for the Management of Adults with Major Depressive disorder: section 3. Pharmacological Treatments. Can J Psychiatr. 2016;61(9):540–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Salinas GD. Engaging learners in CME in 2016: understanding CME preferences to increase future participation. J Contin Educ Heal Prof. 2016;36(Suppl 1):S46–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Baxter P, DiCenso A, Donald F, Martin-Misener R, Opsteen J, Chambers T. Continuing education for primary health care nurse practitioners in Ontario, Canada. Nurse Educ Today. 2013;33(4):353–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Bauer M, Severus E, Köhler S, Whybrow PC, Angst J, Möller H-J, et al. World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) guidelines for biological treatment of unipolar depressive disorders. Part 2: maintenance treatment of major depressive disorder-update 2015. World J Biol Psychiatry. 2015;16(2):76–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Cleare A, Pariante CM, Young AH, Anderson IM, Christmas D, Cowen PJ, et al. Evidence-based guidelines for treating depressive disorders with antidepressants: a revision of the 2008 British Association for Psychopharmacology guidelines. J Psychopharmacol. 2015;29(5):459–525.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Malhi GS, Bassett D, Boyce P, Bryant R, Fitzgerald PB, Fritz K, et al. Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists clinical practice guidelines for mood disorders. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2015;49(12):1087–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Qaseem A, Barry MJ, Kansagara D. Clinical guidelines committee of the American College of Physicians. Nonpharmacologic versus pharmacologic treatment of adult patients with major depressive disorder: a clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians. Ann Intern Med. 2016;164(5):350–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Cervero RM, Gaines JK. The impact of CME on physician performance and patient health outcomes: an updated synthesis of systematic reviews. J Contin Educ Heal Prof. 2015;35(2):131–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Sandars J, Walsh K, Homer M. High users of online continuing medical education: a questionnaire survey of choice and approach to learning. Med Teach. 2010;32(1):83–5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank Anthony Provenzola for technical guidance and assistance in this course and Kim Weber for administrative support.

Funding

CME Innovations Grant, Office of Continuous Professional Development, University of Michigan Medical School.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Sagar V. Parikh, Jolene R. Bostwick & Danielle S. Taubman

Authors
  1. Sagar V. Parikh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jolene R. Bostwick
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Danielle S. Taubman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sagar V. Parikh.

Ethics declarations

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Ethical Considerations

Based on the information provided, the proposed study does not fit the definition of human subjects research requiring IRB approval (per 45 CFR 46, 21 CFR 56) because in this case, it is the activities or procedures rather than human subjects that are the object of the study.

Disclosure

Sagar V. Parikh is a consultant for Takeda Pharmaceutical, Otsuka Pharmaceutical, Sunovion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Lundbeck, receives grant/research support from Assurex, and holds shares at Mensante Corporation. Jolene R. Bostwick and Danielle S. Taubman have nothing to disclose.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Parikh, S.V., Bostwick, J.R. & Taubman, D.S. Videoconferencing Technology to Facilitate a Pilot Training Course in Advanced Psychopharmacology for Psychiatrists. Acad Psychiatry 43, 411–416 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-019-01050-w

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-019-01050-w

Keywords

Search

Navigation