Web 2.0 in Medicine: You Only See What You Know

The residents on the teaching service this month showed an interest in using Web 2.0 services in medicine and we decided to cover a few topics during the rotation -- see the list here. We started with blogs, RSS and podcasts by showing a few examples and trying Google Reader. They liked the idea and were very impressed with the new possibilities to expand their learning armamentarium and to spice up the process a bit. Some residents told me they had seen the orange RSS icons on several web sites but they never knew what they meant, and therefore did not bother to click on them:











Just as it is with clinical diagnosis, "you only see what you know," one of the residents told us. So true.

The feedback from the learning sessions on Web 2.0 in medicine was very positive.

This a list of what I call the 6 axes of medical education in Web 2.0 style:

1. Web feeds (RSS)
2. Podcasts
3. Blogs
4. Wikis
5. Custom search engines
6. Second Life virtual world

Have a look at these Web 2.0 services and you will recognize them next time you see them.


Social Media Starfish created by Darren Barefoot (a Creative Commons license).


My presentation on Web 2.0 in Medicine, updated in 1/2008.

References:
You only see what you know. BMJ. 2003 March 15; 326(7389): 583.
Topics Discussed During the Medicine Consult Service Rotation at Cleveland Clinic in
March/April 2008
Ten Web 2.0 Things You Can Do in Ten Minutes to Be a More Successful E-learning Professional. Stephen Downes, National Research Council Canada.