Page 7 - COM Outlook - Spring 2013
Basic HTML Version
7
COM Outlook . Spring 2013
hefty fees to attend conferences, access
journals, and receive the latest news. We
acquiesce to this paradigm because this
habit and expectation is established early in
training through textbooks and exam-review
courses. Our predecessors have established
this pattern, but a new path is emerging.
Over the past year, I’ve become involved
in a global movement to mitigate this issue,
coined Free Open Access Medical Educa-
tion (FOAM). The movement, based on the
premise that the world is flat with regard
to medical education and information, has
gained worldwide momentum. FOAM, a
new movement for an old concept, works
to build and codify available online medical
education resources. This growing body of
resources includes blogs, podcasts, iTunes
University lectures, Google+ Hangouts, text,
question banks, grand rounds from resi-
dency programs, and Twitter tweets. Don’t
have time to flip through journals? Many
journals produce podcasts, summarizing the
issue’s key points or exploring an article in
depth. Other sources, such as the
Now@
NEJM
blog and the Global Medical Educa-
tion Project, span the spectrum of clinical
and basic sciences.
Numerous advantages exist in this form
of medical education. Learning is self-
directed, allowing an individual to select the
subject material as well as the medium for
learning (audio, visual, text). The nature of
the medium enables anyone to access the
information, regardless of location. Rural
physicians and community practitioners
have the same ability to access and engage
in the latest thought and practices as their
academic counterparts. Use of applica-
tions such as Google+ Hangouts and the
Web site
encourage virtual
journal clubs amongst individuals in different
locations. A world-class education is avail-
able anywhere as the information is often
from content experts, premier lecturers, and
top educators. Additionally, many producers
of FOAM offer formal CME credits.
FOAM is interactive learning and Twitter
is the epicenter. Like many, I had reserva-
tions about this medium, thinking it was
solely for crazed pop-star fans. Social media
has become a dirty phrase in medicine as
scandalous stories from inappropriate posts
occasionally dot the headlines of journals
and media. Used in a deliberate and profes-
sional manner, however, this medium has
transformed medical practice around the
world. One can virtually attend medical con-
ferences by following conference hashtags.
Debates on diagnosis and management
arise frequently, with links to PubMed journal
articles and texts. Twitter can function as a
form of intellectual voyeurism as one can
see how other physicians and trainees think,
read, or approach a particular clinical situ-
ation. Pose a question and someone from
around the world is likely to offer an answer
or resource within minutes. The only rules?
Remember HIPAA and don’t put anything
online that you wouldn’t want on a billboard.
FOAM is not without weaknesses. One
must use a discriminating eye to ensure
information is accurate and be wary of
mindlessly lapping up an expert’s word;
yet this is an issue in any classroom or
conference hall. FOAM naturally induces
open, continuous dialogue, thereby in-
creasingly holding authors accountable
for references. Additionally, there exists
the danger of information overload. Akin
to any lecture, listening is not understand-
ing. However, from the first day of medical
school, we hear the refrain, “Medicine
is like drinking from a fire hose.” FOAM
requires fundamental skills of information
filtering, appraisal, and processing.
There’s something for everyone in
the FOAM world. For example, during my
first and second year of medical school, I
used podcasts to make the basic sciences
clinically relevant while justifying my time
at the gym, traveling, and at the beach. As
a third-year student, I drew upon blogs,
lectures, and podcasts to look well-read
and study for Step 2 while commuting. This
year, FOAM enabled me to virtually attend
and participate in over a dozen internation-
al conferences. Active participation using
Twitter and creation of a personal learn-
ing network through a blog connected me
with physicians from around the world and
provided me with residency opportunities
that seemed unattainable.
For educators, residency programs can
create an interactive classroom by record-
ing lectures and creating public online case
scenarios to encourage innovation and criti-
cal thinking while bolstering the institution’s
public profile. Community physicians use
FOAM to stay updated, practice evidence-
based medicine, network, and obtain CME
credits. Whether you realize it or not, NSU-
COM generates FOAM. Andrew Sloas, D.O.
(class of 2001) has a pediatric emergency
podcast with an international following, PEM
ED, at the forefront of the FOAM movement.
NSU-COM’s OPP fellows created a podcast
called Didactics Online. I dare you to see
what FOAM can do for you.
“If you want to know how we practiced
medicine 5 years ago – read a textbook
If you want to know how we practiced
medicine 2 years ago – read a journal
If you want to know how we practice
medicine now – go to a (good) conference
If you want to know how we will practice
medicine in the future – use FOAM.”
- Dr. Joseph Lex, Temple University -
For more information on FOAM, please
visit
http://
lifeinthefastlane.com/2012/09/creating-the-
foam-network/
.
References
Campagna JD, Bond MC, Schabelman E, Hayes BD.
The use of cephalosporins in penicillin-allergic patients: a
literature review.
J Emerg Med
. 2012;42(5):612-20.
Filanovsky Y, Miller P, Kao J. Myth: ketamine should not
be used as an induction agent for intubation in patients
with head injury. CJEM 2010;12(2):154-157.
Denkler KA. Epinephrine in the digits.
Plast Reconstr
Surg
. 2011 Aug;128(2):598-9.
