OrthoDoc

The field of Orthopaedic Surgery is exploding!!

There is so much to learn today. All that we learnt during our post graduation is so out dated that sometimes I get frustrated. Constantly whenever I browse the net I keep my eyes open for material worthy of notice. Most of the material is of two main types: either a busy surgeon with a webpage that is loaded with information which is more of a web page filler rather than being informative or it is a big-notch company that is trying to sell its equally big-notch product. The latter are heavily biased in their delivery of information towards the product they sell. In other words, both the types are grossly inadequate. Of course there are exceptions, but they are rare or out dated.There is a need for more informative material for both the student and the patient. Someplace where the person can visit to collect reliable info. Something on the lines of an OKO or the emedicine portals. While the former is a paid site, the latter is very limited. There were a few learning materials available in the NEJM site but then this requires a subscription.

I have been looking at Wikibooks for quite some time now. A book on Orthopaedic Surgery is also listed but contribution is scanty and the book has lain empty. Wikiversity could be the ideal ground for development of some teaching material. Teaching today, goes beyond books. With the availabilty of digital cameras and excellent presentation software it should not be hard to create materials like slide presentations or even instructional videos. And once we have some material then we can have some basic courses set up as well.

But am pretty unsure about how to get collaborators onto the projects. The fact that there are so many open-source projects with community contribution in other subjects, it makes me wonder when we will have the same situation in Orthopaedic Surgery.

You may say I am a dreamer,
But I’m not the only one.
I hope some day you will join us,
And the world would live as one…
John Lennon.

Technorati Tags: Orthopaedic, Online learning, Wikiversity

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