Dr. D. Myhre
Delivery of up to date, evidence based academic content is difficult in geographically dispersed rural training programs. Urban, regional and rural sites can combine to meet these requirements and deliver core academic content without overwhelming the local community based preceptors. Strong university support is essential to the success in this effort. The rural Family Practice training stream of the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, was established in August 2000. The teaching sites are spread over the southern half of the province and incorporate two regional hospitals and the University academic centre in Calgary. This area, encompassing 151,040 square kilometers (roughly the size of Great Britain), is the training arena for ten residents per year of the residency. National accreditation in Canada requires delivery of specific academic content as well as a list of suggested content. Should one unit of the training program fail in this expectation, the entire program is affected. It is therefore incumbent upon the program administration to ensure consistent delivery of academics. This presentation will demonstrate the use of Information Technology, tele-education, and portable modules to meet the national criteria. It will also provide information on the training of the residents and preceptors in the use of the tools and provide information on specific tools and costs.