Healthcare Professional Roles: The Ontology Model for E-Learning

The paper aims to present the MEDeLEARN project, an ontology-driven virtual learning environment for Medical Information System training. The current training environment for healthcare professionals in the use of essential medical information systems in a large urban training hospital is based on conventional instructor-led training sessions. Problems arise due to the demanding nature of the hospital working environment, causing training to be cancelled or curtailed. This mode of training delivery is deemed to be inefficient and ineffective, with the danger of serious errors occurring as a consequence. The project investigates whether a virtual learning environment can address the competency gap that exists in the training of healthcare professionals in the use of medical information systems. It explores the role of andragogy (adult learning) in the design and development of reusable SCORM conformant Learning Objects (LOs) for this medical domain. The system architecture of the MEDeLEARN system comprises the competency model (an ontology) and a content repository composed of metadata and learning objects