In a recent interview with a third-party service provider, we spent a good amount of time discussing the company’s various training courses, and through that conversation a number of interesting topics arose. In addition to on-site and in-house training offerings, the company also includes a series of Web training courses for biomeds. While issues arise with online training—specifically, a lack of hands-on experience—the interviewee believes that Web classes can be beneficial for biomeds because of differing learning styles and, more importantly, a facility’s ability to fund that training; he mentioned that while many hospital biomed departments will budget for training, few will budget for travel expenses, thus limiting many training opportunities.

How do you feel about online training courses? Does the lack of hands-on training outweigh the benefits of being able to learn at your own pace? Does your facility budget for training and travel separately, limiting your ability to travel for educational opportunities?