For-profit online institutions have experienced strong growth rates and are expected to continue to do so by adding new degree programmes, including for high-demand professions such as medicine. Even traditional universities are increasingly interested in exploring setting up virtual medical schools where students study for a medical degree in a variety of non-traditional settings combined with field experience in local clinics.

The strong demand for online education is supported by research that favourably compares the learning outcome of online and residential training. However, at a time when medical schools stress the need for curricula that focus on patient-doctor relationships, many question whether online medical coursework goes against the tide.

A German doctors’ lobby has expressed concern about the European Digital University, a company operating from Malta that is offering a three-year Bachelor of Medicine degree accredited by the local National Commission for Further and Higher Education. It is offering prospective students the chance to eventually qualify as doctors of medicine through a programme that includes online instruction combined with practical clinical training in EU hospitals.

Frank Montgomery, who chairs an EU-wide doctors’ lobby, declared he has no confidence in the course offered by the EDU and fears such practices could be a trend creeping into the EU’s medical sector, whereby physicians were certified by institutions that did not meet the necessary standards.

Similar worries were expressed by the Medical Association of Malta. Its president, Martin Balzan, insisted Malta had to ensure it retains its good international standing as a centre of learning. Many medical experts would agree with Prof. Montgomery that online courses could never meet the same standards as laboratory work in traditional programmes. The peripheral learning in these settings – cooperation, teamwork and interaction – rather than the mechanics of running experiments and collecting data is not available for online students who may only spend limited time in a hospital environment. Traditional lab experiences provide opportunities to engage in cooperative teamwork and for professors to observe the students.

Education Minister Evarist Bartolo said the authorities were being “very rigorous” in reviewing the company’s requests. The EDU insists its quality standards adhere to the guidelines of the National Commission for Further and Higher Education and, hence, based on European standards. It also highlights the “standing and reputation” of the private German hospitals providing practical training as an integral part of its courses. Online distance learning may be equal to traditional coursework from an academic perspective but there is a clearly different issue of acceptability. Acceptance is all about whether or not a degree meets the criteria required.

 Accreditation is part of the acceptance mix. However, if there are doubts about a training institution, and a hospital manager recognises this, a graduate may struggle to benefit from the hard work done as a medical student.

Perception is everything when it comes to prestige and certain institutions have an almost insurmountable amount of prestige. Prof. Montgomery is right to advise students aspiring to become doctors to determine which type of medical training will ultimately improve their chances of graduating from a respectable institution whose degrees have a hallmark of acceptability internationally.

This is a Times of Malta print editorial

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.