Objective

1. Nuclear Education Online Nuclear Education Online Authorized User Training for Physicians Authorized User Training for Physicians Dao Le Pharm.D., BCNP; Nicki Hilliard Pharm.D., BCNP; Martha Pickett MHSA, CMNT The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Jeff Norenberg M.S., Pharm.D., BCNP; Buck Rhodes Ph.D; Kristina Wittstrom M.Ed., R.Ph., BCNP The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center Results Background Objective Methods Conclusions The NEO curriculum is delivered with WebCT-Blackboard, an industry-leading, e-learning platform. Learners have access to a variety of learning tools including: lecture notes, reading assignments, references, self-assessments and examinations. Both the 80 hour and the 200 hour nuclear education training courses are divided into separate course blocks of content: Nuclear Physics, Nuclear Instrumentation, Radiation Biology, Radiochemistry, and Regulations and Protection. Each content block is an integral unit, offering maximum flexibility for practicing physicians and residency programs. For example, one course block could be assigned during each nuclear medicine rotation. Nuclear Education Online (NEO) is an educational consortium between UAMS and UNM that offer didactic training courses, consisting of either 80 or 200 hours of nuclear education, as required by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) or Agreement States to qualify a physician for addition as an Authorized User (AU) to a radioactive materials license. NEO offers this education and training to students throughout the world, combining a web-based curriculum with locally supervised experiential training. The program eliminates the need for cardiology fellows or radiology residents to travel outside of their programs to receive this instruction. The NEO didactic training program is incorporated seamlessly into the curriculum. The asynchronous (anytime, anywhere) environment provides learners with the flexibility to coordinate didactic education with hands-on exper-ience, while maintaining personal and professional obligations. Physicians who have completed the NEO AU Training Program have been successful in applying for the CBNC exam and/or in obtaining AU status within their respective states. With programs such as this one, physicians may now elect to receive education via an online delivery system as an alternative to other educational venues, thus gaining the rewards to scheduling flexibility and enhanced accessibility. The combination of a web-based curriculum and locally supervised experiential training provide learners with education and training of the highest caliber. Fellowship Programs: :: Baystate Medical Center-Massachusetts :: East Tennessee University :: Johns Hopkins University :: Medical College of Wisconsin :: Mount Sinai Medical Center-Florida :: Tisch Hospital-NYU Medical Center :: Tuffs University :: UAMS Medical Sciences :: University of Connecticut :: University of Kentucky :: University of Nebraska :: University of Southern California The purpose of the program is to provide an alternative educational program that allows Cardiology and Radiology fellows and residents to complete the didactic training necessary to sit for the Certification Board of Nuclear Cardiology (CBNC) exam and/or to be added as an AU on a radioactive materials human use license, while completing their graduate medical training. Since the inception of the NEO AU Training for Physicians program in July of 2006, there have been 129 physicians enrolled from 12 different fellowship programs and 28 different states. Fifty-seven physicians have successfully completed the program, including one who received CBNC certification and 44 who are awaiting results from CBNC exam taken in December of 2007. Additionally, 16 have already obtained AU status within their state. Finally, 72 physicians have pending completions. www.nuclearonline.org Presented at the ACGME conference in March of 2008. Grant funding provided by the U.S. Department of Education FIPSE program