Synthesis Research on the Effectiveness of E-Learning in Medical Sciences Education and Its Design and Implementation Requirements

The use of e-learning methods has brought about a great revolution in the field of medical sciences education. In this regard, analytical assessment of the literature can be effective in understanding the effectiveness of e-learning system and its design and implementation requirements. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to conduct a synthesis research on the effectiveness of e-learning in medical sciences education and explore its design and implementation requirements.
This research employed a qualitative synthesis approach. Data were collected by searching through library sources, dissertations and papers in databases of ERIC, ProQuest, Science Direct, PubMed, Scopus, Springer, Magiran and Irandoc. Databases were searched using the keywords effectiveness, e-learning, distance education, virtual medical education, blended learning and e-learning requirements both separately and in combination. A total of 178 research studies (Persian and English), published from 2007 to 2016, were identified, of which 78 were selected for analysis.
Findings showed that e-learning has been effective in different fields of medical sciences for both fully electronic courses and blended learning courses. In addition, pedagogical, organizational and technical requirements should be identified and applied for effective design and implementation of the e-learning system.
Successful and effective implementation of the e-learning system requires adequate infrastructures, preparedness at the levels of knowledge, skill and attitude among students and professors as well as appropriate designing of educational programs based on meticulous needs assessments in the target population.