Instructional design and the emergency department.

This paper studies the effectiveness of different educational programmes. A number of cohorts of junior doctors received one of two different induction training packages. These programmes differed principally in the length of time over which they were administered. The junior doctors were then assessed using a structured questionnaire. There was a noticeable difference in the factual recall between the cohorts depending on what programme they had attended. Those attending the programme delivered over an extended period showed better performance on assessment. The interpretations and implications of these findings are discussed.