Assessing the Attitude of Employees at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Iran, Regarding In-service Online Training Courses

In-service training for employees is one of the necessities of medical universities and healthcare providers. These courses are expanding rapidly due to recent advances in modern information technology.

This study is a descriptive-analytic cross-sectional study. We aimed to assess the attitude of employees of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences towards in-service online training courses during 2010-2011. 197 employees were randomly selected. The data collection tool was a questionnaire compiled by the researcher. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by experts in the field. In order to evaluate the reliability of the questionnaire repeated measure test and Cronbach's Alpha coefficient (94%) was used.

Based on the questionnaires which were completed by the participants, a considerable number of employees approved this method and thought it to be effective (P<0.001).

Mashhad University of Medical Sciences is one of the first universities to initiate virtual in-service training courses. This study was done simultaneously with other studies in other universities in order to expand and develop this type of training more systematically based on evidence.