Mr John Wright1,2, Miss Laura Wright1
1Tennant Creek Hospital, Tennant Creek, Australia, 2Flinders University, Tennant Creek, Australia
Biography:
John Wright started his working life as a farmer, shearer, truck driver and grain handler. After a few false starts at university he became a Registered Nurse in 1994 and has been an Emergency Nurse, Remote Area Nurse and Nurse Educator in about equal measure over the past 31 years. He has been Nurse Education & Research Coordinator at Tennant Creek Hospital for the past 10 years, and a volunteer facilitator for several CRANAplus courses for many years. John is passionate about clinical education and making a difference through training and inspiring health staff to reach their full potential.
Abstract:
This presentation explores the comparative effectiveness of face-to-face and online training methods for remote health staff in Australia. With the increasing demand for continuous professional development in rural and remote areas, understanding the advantages and limitations of each approach is crucial. Workplace education is a factor in remote health staff retention, so matching the delivery modality to the needs of the consumers is an important step.
Face-to-face training offers direct interaction, hands-on experiences, and immediate feedback, fostering a strong sense of community and engagement among participants. In contrast, online training provides greater accessibility, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness, allowing health workers to upskill without leaving their communities. Both approaches have benefits, but also significant barriers, which affect the effectiveness and accessibility of remote health training.
The presentation considers factors such as learning outcomes, participant satisfaction, technological challenges, and resource allocation. Ultimately, the findings suggest that a blended approach, utilising both face-to-face and online modalities, may offer the most effective solution to meet the diverse needs of remote health staff. The presentation will incorporate an online engagement tool to enable the participants to provide information and grass roots advice about practical ways to deliver appropriate training for remote health staff.