A comparison of tele-education versus conventional lectures in wound care knowledge and skill acquisition.

We conducted a randomized controlled study to compare conventional lectures with tele-education for delivering wound care education. Education was delivered by the two methods simultaneously to two classes. Forty-eight paramedics received a live didactic presentation and 41 paramedics received the same lecture via videoconferencing. The participants were evaluated by a multiple-choice examination and a practical test of their wound closure skills. There were no significant differences in any category of the practical skills test, and no difference in the results of the written examination: the mean total score was was 109.0 (95% Cl 105.7-112.4) in the conventional lecture group and 110.3 (95% Cl 106.2-114.3) in the video group (P= 0.63). In a survey at the end of the study the live lecture group rated the overall effectiveness of teaching significantly higher than the video-based group: the median scores for effectiveness of teaching were 6.0 (IQR 5.5-6.0) in the live lecture group and 4.0 (IQR 3.0-5.0) in the video group (P< 0.001). Videoconferencing was at least as effective as live didactic presentation.