Continuing education using a system for supervised remote training

A method performed in a system having a processor and memory of automatically analyzing a first interpretation made by a student of one or more aspects of an output from a test device, an interpretation being made using a graphical user interface displayed in the system, the graphical user interface enabling a user to describe an aspect of the output by making menu selections from a menu of items that describe the aspect, and the method comprising the steps of:

• making a second interpretation using the graphical user interface of the output, the second interpretation being made by an expert in interpreting the output;
• automatically comparing the menu selections made by the student for the first interpretation and the expert for the second interpretation;
• and
• providing results based on the comparison to the student.

Apparatus whereby instruction in interpreting studies made on an echocardiography machine may be provided to a student by a remotely-located expert, the apparatus comprising:

• a server system that is accessible via a network browser to the student and the expert,
• the server system including
• a first server that provides representations of screens to the network browser and responds to inputs from the browser screens;
• and
• a database accessible to the first server that contains report interface information needed to make first browser screens which are used to make reports describing studies and report information received from the first browser screens for the reports,
• the first server
• providing one first browser screen to the student which the student uses to make a student's report describing the study and providing another first browser screen to the expert which the expert uses to make an expert's report describing the study,
• comparing the report information received for the expert's report with the report information received for the student's report, and
• using the comparison to generate a final report which shows where the expert's report information and the student's report information differ and a grade for the student's report which is based on weighted differences between the expert's report information and the student's report information.

A method of providing continuing medical education in echocardiography to a student, the continuing medical education in echocardiography including interpreting studies made with an echocardiography machine,

• the method repeating a cycle a plurality of times, and the cycle comprising the steps of:
• providing resident continuing medical education in echocardiography in which the student and an expert in interpreting studies are both physically present, the resident continuing education being for a resident period of time that is short enough to that the period of time does not substantially interfere with the student's practice;
• and
• providing non-resident continuing medical education in echocardiography for a non-resident period of time, the non-resident continuing medical education including
• receiving a first report on a study from the student;
• analyzing the first report by comparing the first report with a second report made on the study by the expert;
• and
• providing results of the analysis to the student whereby the student performs supervised interpretations of studies during the non-resident continuing medical education.