Rendez-vous 121
Thursday, December 20 2001
Thank you Timothy for accepting our rendez-vous. May I ask you to introduce yourself ?
Timothy VanSusteren: I serve as Associate Dean for Continuing Medical Education and Faculty Development with the University Of Florida College Of Medicine and hold a dual clinical appointment of Associate Professor in the Division of Cardiology and the Department of Psychiatry.
I lead in the planning, administration, and coordination of continuing education programs for physicians, psychologists, and allied health professionals; and a comprehensive faculty development program. My research interests include educational assessment and remedial education for professionals, addiction and impaired professionals, technology in medical education, and assessing the impact of continuing education activities.
Q1. When and why did you think about offering on line a university course about tobacco? Were/Are you aware of other universities proposing such a class? Is the University of Florida also offering a traditional course in tobacco control?
Timothy VanSusteren: The University of Florida, College of Medicine has a very strong program in neurobiology and addictionology. The UF Brain Center and the Department of Psychiatry have an ongoing active agenda led by the distinguished scientist and Clinician, Mark Gold MD. Dr. Gold provided the incentive and leadership to get our course(s) developed. In 2000 the course Neurobiology of Addiction was launched as a "live course" with numerous Internet support connections. The course was very successful and eventually "immigrated "to a completely Internet based course. Our plan was (and is) to use this as the basic or introductory course with several others in the series, including courses on tobacco.
Q2. How is the course organized? Are all the texts available on a web site? Do you need special equipment to access the info? How are the students interacting with the professors? Do they have to produce reports? Are there quizzes, exams? Did students already graduate from this course?
Timoty VanSusteren: The course is organized as a learning experience for the students. It is "student centered" rather than teacher centered and offers an organized approach for the students to encounter the knowledge. All of the learning materials including reading can be found on-line. There is no required text. All that is required is a computer and Internet access. The main focus is on the students' interaction with the body of knowledge encompassed by the course. The professor's role is that of "course architect" and not "dispenser of knowledge". Interactions with professor/facilitators are done via email and bulletin board.
The students write and submit numerous (about 15) brief reports describing their learning experiences.
There are also on-line quizzes (about 15) which are open-book and
open note. In addition, the students keep a "journal" of their learning
experiences. The final paper (5-8 pages) is an integration of their
journals.
Q3. You state that University of Florida faculty teach the program. Can you give us more information about them? How are they going to intervene? Is the program supported by the state tobacco control campaign?
Timothy VanSusteren: Again, there are no real "teachers" in the traditional sense. The course was developed by educators and subject matter experts as a unified learning experience for the students. Faculty serve as facilitators/guides for student learning. Intervention only really takes place when there is a noted problem.
No state tobacco control or other funds support the course. As a University of Florida Distance Education Course, it must stand completely on its own and be self-supporting.
Q4. Is the course mostly focused on Florida and the US or are international aspects also part of the curriculum?
Timothy VanSusteren: The course provides an analysis of the social phenomenon of tobacco use from a sociological, cultural, medical, and economic standpoint. As a University of Florida academic course, it must meet high standards for scientific accuracy and rigor.
Q5. The course is a 3 credits class. How much does it cost? How long does it take to complete?
Timothy VanSusteren: The course costs $285.00/US (the cost of a three credit in-state tuition for an undergraduate course). Students have six months to complete the course once they have enrolled.
Q6. Is there anything else you would like to add?
Timothy VanSusteren: The development team and I have found this to be rewarding personally and professionally, we strive to make this course the very best available.
Thank you Timothy for taking the time to be with us today.
Rendez-vous is supported by a contract from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
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