Many thanks to all those who replied to our request for information/views
about the Medical Masterclass educational package. It was really useful to
find out the opinions from those with practical experience of the package
and we are hoping that the information gathered will prove useful in
persuading budget holders to consider its purchase. 
Some of those who replied said that they would be interested in our findings
so we have summarised the main points raised (without identifying
individuals!) below. 
Once again many thanks for the response to our request. 
Library staff

Medical Masterclass (summary of opinions)
USE OF ITEMS
The books are heavily used, and in comparison the CD-ROMs and website are
underused: although some could not monitor the use of the electronic
elements due to the way in which they had set them up.  Obviously if this is
the case, it is an expensive option when only the books are used. Obviously,
demand for the items increased at exam periods. Decisions regarding the
borrowing rights of the items seemed to make a difference to their use, and
an element of heavy promotion of the resource seemed to be needed. There was
concern raised about its value when items are on loan or unavailable for
some reason, but a suitable borrowing procedure would hopefully minimise
this. A couple of comments were made about it being perhaps more appropriate
to Part 2ers rather than Part 1ers, especially the software. There is a good
selection of short case studies, MCQ's, diagnostic picture tests etc which
are very useful. 

TECHNOLOGICAL ELEMENTS OF THE PACKAGE
There seemed to be a lot of problems with the CD-ROMs: discs not working and
never replaced, networking issues (varying views: some said it definitely
couldn't, some managed to after great trouble and some had no troubles
whatsoever!), apparently it doesn't work on Windows NT, and problems with
earlier versions being unstable. The website requires username/password for
access which proved initially problematic for some. I think some used a
generic username/password to make access easier, but then an ongoing record
of use by each user cannot be provided. There is an excellent feedback
system, when it's working though!

FUNDING FOR ITS PURCHASE
The general consensus was that it was an expensive item which would normally
be beyond the average library budget: £1,000 for 2,500 pages of print, 2
CD-ROMs and website access. The vast majority seemed to get it funded by
postgraduate medical education through the Clinical Tutor. Justifications
obviously varied but one example was that it was paid for by postgraduate
education study leave budget: idea being to encourage junior doctors to
study for exam on site rather than going off on expensive & time-consuming
courses, and others mentioned that it was to be used for medical department
teaching sessions as it is useful for both individual study and group
teaching. There was a nice story of how in one library the funding for the
item was helped by enthusiastic junior doctors raising more than half the
money by getting sponsorship from drug companies!

FINAL THOUGHTS 
The vast majority of opinions about the actual resource itself were very
positive, even in light of the price of the item. It seems to be well-used
and well thought of and very popular. It seems to be an extremely helpful
resource which the doctors are pleased to have access to.  

"everyone loves it" 
"our juniors are delighted" 
"proved to be a worthwhile expenditure"
"It is an expensive package, however I think it is a very useful additional
learning medium. It will be interesting to see how many of the current set
of MRCP candidates pass their exams!"





Herefordshire Clinical Library
Postgraduate Medical Centre
County Hospital
Hereford
HR1 2ER

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