Computer based learning in the teaching of ionising radiation protection

As part of the Teaching and Learning Technology Programme (TLTP), a consortium of universities has been established to develop an interactive Computer Assisted Learning program based on the “The Protection of Patients Undergoing Medical Examination and Treatment” (POPUMET) regulations 1988. Following recent EC legislation and the above Act of Parliament, all practising medical staff must be fully trained in the theory and practice of the use of ionising radiation in medicine. This immediately posed a significant new teaching load throughout the UK medical school system, both in implementation and ensuring effectiveness. This course is currently taught to almost all medical undergraduates (4,000 a year in the UK) and to junior doctors if they have not received this training elsewhere. At Dundee this involves approximately six hours of lectures. Given the content of the course it was felt that Computer Assisted Learning (CAL) could provide a more dynamic learning environment, The program itself, which the authors have called RadiCAL, is written in Visual Basic