State of Digital Education Options in the areas of Medical Terminology and the History, Theory and Ethics of Medicine

Background: Institutes of the history of medicine, the theory of medicine, and medical ethics at German institutions of higher learning have created various e-learning options that are based on different learning platforms and tailored to the specific curricular needs of individual teaching. Up to now no valid data has been available about the types of such e-learning options as well as possibilities of future developments thanks to coordinated cooperation among the different institutes. Methods: Of 31 German institutes of the history and theory of medicine and medical ethics that were asked to fill out a questionnaire, 30 answered, which equals a return rate of 97 per cent. The questionnaire was completed between July and August 2012 using a telephone survey. Results: Available to students online, digitally interactive teaching tools have boomed in the course of the last few years at German institutes of the history of medicine, the theory of medicine, and medical ethics. This trend is also reflected in a willingness of more than half of the respective departments (67 per cent) to expand their e-learning options on the basis of previous experience. The offered e-learning systems are accepted very well by the students. 57 per cent of the institutes stated, that 90-100 per cent of the students use the offered systems regularly. E-learning courses for terminology are offered particularly often, this is also reflected in the intended extension of these courses by the majority of institutes which plan to expand their e-learning systems. Conclusions: This article discusses the results of a comprehensive empirical survey about e-learning. It illustrates ways in which individual German institutes plan to expand their e-learning options in the future. Finally, specific proposals for cooperation among institutions (not just online) are introduced, the purpose of which is to produce synergy in e-learning.