Assessing on-line medical education resources: A primer for acute care medical professionals and others

Abstract

The internet is increasingly used to propagate medical education, debate, and even disinformation. Therefore, this primer aims to help acute care medical professionals, as well as the public. This is because we all need to be able to critically appraise digital products, appraise content producers, and reflect upon our own on-line presence. This article discusses the challenges and opportunities associated with online medical resources. We then review Free Open Access Medical Education (FOAMed) and the key tools used to assess the trustworthiness of on-line medical products. Specifically, after discussing the pros and cons of traditional academic quality metrics, we compare and contrast the Social Media Index, the ALiEM AIR score, the Revised METRIQ Score, and gestalt. We also discuss internet search engines, peer review, and the important message behind the seemingly tongue-in-cheek Kardashian Index. Hopefully, this primer bolsters basic digital literacy and helps trainees, practitioners, and the public locate useful and reliable on-line resources. Importantly, we highlight the continued importance of traditional academic medicine and primary source publications.

Learning technology in health professions education: Realising an (un)imagined future

“…118 Educators and students will need to continue to develop digital literacy and metacognition about learning to be able to appraise the quality and usefulness of these online resources. 119 120 and is increasingly used as a knowledge translation tool. 121 A challenge with the proliferation of FOAM is finding the most useful and trustworthy material.…”

“…Students can show higher engagement with non‐institutional technologies that often support knowledge construction and accelerated learning 118 . Educators and students will need to continue to develop digital literacy and metacognition about learning to be able to appraise the quality and usefulness of these online resources 119 . Institutions should consider more carefully how supporting learners can drive and create technologies to support learning, including content creation.…”

SAEM systematic online academic resource (SOAR) review: Gastrointestinal illnesses

“…[1][2][3] It has been reported that primary sources of literature have had decreasing rates of subscribers. 2 Meanwhile asynchronous learning has become more prominent in residency programs and is now being used as an adjunct to traditional didactic synchronous learning. [2][3][4][5][6] Not surprisingly, due to its ease of use and accessibility, residents appear to prefer online resources over traditional primary literature and textbooks, and this may affect the depth and quality of information learned.…”

“…2 Meanwhile asynchronous learning has become more prominent in residency programs and is now being used as an adjunct to traditional didactic synchronous learning. [2][3][4][5][6] Not surprisingly, due to its ease of use and accessibility, residents appear to prefer online resources over traditional primary literature and textbooks, and this may affect the depth and quality of information learned. 6,7 Mobile point-of-care resources are also utilized by seasoned physicians for teaching and clinical guidance.…”

“…9 FOAM has been criticized for its decentralized nature and inconsistent quality review process, therefore making it difficult to assess content reliability. 2 Anyone can publish information and opinions online, regardless of quality. Given these criticisms of FOAM, it is imperative for educators to guide trainees to more reliable and reputable resources.…”