There is no denying that we now well and truly live in the digital age. Whatever our need, we can source it instantly by going online, whether it is flights, films or information. But why is it that we so frequently find ourselves turning to the internet? The answer is simple, it is the convenience of it.
The dental industry is now harnessing this power to improve way that clinicians gain verifiable CPD, with webinars proving a popular method as they don't conflict with practice hours.
Mike Horrocks, lead clinician at simplyendo is one of the presenters in Dentsply Academy’s series of webinars. Mike understands how difficult it can be to find time to earn verifiable CPD when you have a busy professional schedule, he says, “Dentists are very reluctant to miss clinical time, if they can arrange to gain their CPD out of practice hours this of great help to them. This is why webinars are proving so popular.”
Joining a webinar is simple, all that is needed is a computer with internet access. Another bonus is that they can be made available at a time that suits a busy practice schedule.
For Mike, webinars are a completely different experience to a typical lecture, “They are great for didactic learning and for learning about new products. You are able to incorporate videos and make the whole experience much more interesting for the audience. They aren’t just watching someone reading from slides, they have got something visual there to relate information to. Whether they are clinical videos or videos of work on simulated root canals, they work very well in webinars.”
Webinars can be viewed worldwide. For Mike this is one of the most enjoyable parts of presenting his webinars, “It is a great way of passing on a message to a lot of people globally. Your audience could be watching anywhere, but because the whole thing is interactive they still have the opportunity to ask you questions which you can respond to instantly.”
Many clinicians find that going to a lecture can lead to a lot of new information being delivered in a very short time, some of which could be forgotten or missed. However with webinars such as those provided by the Dentsply Academy, students can rewatch webinars over and over. Mike explains why this is important, “I can’t over emphasise the power of being able to go over the webinars again. It is reassuring for me to know that if those viewing the webinar miss something or don’t grasp something straight away they can go back and view the session again.”
Mike is positive that the internet will continue to play a large role in the way that those in the dental industry educate themselves, “I see that in the future there will be a lot more emphasis on e-learning, I think it is a no brainer when it comes to core CPD because it is incredibly convenient. I think that as online learning progresses we will make greater use of cloud storage systems. This way clinicians will be given access to a greater variety of resources.”
It is undeniable that webinars are a great modern way of gaining verifiable CPD, as Mike puts it, “Everybody is stuck for time these days, that’s why webinars are so handy, they minimise travelling too. A lot of people we teach come from the furthest corners of the UK and Europe, so anything we can do that minimises travelling for them must be a good thing, it is a fantastic facility.”