Using High Tech: Continuing Professional Education By an Interactive Satellite System

Abstract

The Province of British Columbia is undoubtedly one of the m st beautiful regions f the world. The snow-capped mountains, the dense forests, and rushing rivers make it a photographer's paradise. This terrain, though extremely beautiful, has served as a barrier to ef fective communication among communities for decades. Modern highway and railway systems network the province; yet, severe weather conditions and great distances between communities restrict travel. Due to these conditions professional people from rural areas, until very recently, were offered few continuing profes sional education experiences in their local communities. The doctors, nurses, and teachers who worked in the small towns of British Columbia had to travel hundreds of miles, often at their own expense, to maintain a reasonable level of professional competence. During the early seventies, rural people began to realize that the quality of social services available to them in their communities was dependent, to a signifi cant extent, upon the experience, commitment, and qualifications of the professional people offering those services. Professional associations were similarly becoming concerned that their members working in small rural communities were not aware of many recent advances in their fields of expertise. The provincial government was lobbied by these political pressure groups to ensure that British Columbians, irrespective of their places of residence, should have a similar quality of social services.