From Anne Taylor-Vaisey:

Every year an important meeting for medical educators and researchers is the RIME meeting, which forms part of the AAMC Annual Meeting. (I have never been able to attend … sigh …)

 

From this post on my blog you can link to the program and to the PubMed records for RIME abstracts back to 1990. For all CHE posts, click here.

Here we go again: F.D.A. Says Bayer Failed to Reveal Drug Risk Study (from the New York Times). A snip:

Bayer A.G., the German pharmaceutical giant, failed to reveal to federal drug officials the results of a large study suggesting that a widely used heart-surgery medicine might increase the risks of death and stroke, the Food and Drug Administration announced Friday.



Bayer scientists even appeared at a public meeting called by the F.D.A. on Sept. 21 to discuss the possibility that the drug, Trasylol, might have serious risks. But they did not mention the study or its worrisome results.

Sound like Vioxx redux to anyone else?

From Anne Taylor-Vaisey:

A new issue of Medical Education has just been published online. Link to selected contents of the October issue, and to the contents of five other medical education journals, here.

Anne Taylor-Vaisey has updated her blog page with the latest entry in this Medical Teacher series:

 

Ramani S, Gruppen L, Kachur EK. Twelve tips for developing effective mentors. Med Teach 2006; 28(5):404-408.

 

Read about all the 12 tip articles here.

Here is the list of collections she has written about.

Now that social media such as blogs have filtered into the mainstream when it comes to politics, news, and the technology and entertainment industries, conference organizers are beginning to pick up on the trend–and so they should, says Dmitriy Kruglyak, publisher of The Medical Blog Network and chair of Healthcare Blogging Summit 2006. I spoke with Kruglyak recently to find out why (much more on how it can benefit healthcare organizations specifically is in the September/October issue of Medical Meetings, which will be up online as soon as I can get to it.)

Me: How can conference organizers use blogs in conjunction with their events?

Kruglyak: Before the meeting, use blogs to create buzz and build anticipation. Create an “official” conference blog to publish regular updates. Point your target audience to your blog to engage them interactively. The publicity that blogs can generate for a conference has the potential to positively influence the attendance. Blog posts can highlight the expertise of speakers or the importance of certain workshops. Blog posts can also cover the “prerequisite” information needed to catch people up on topical issues. This will enable participants to glean as much useful information from the conference as possible.

When blogging during a meeting, it is important that you think about “next year.” You want to highlight all the good stuff that people are missing. It is also an outward demonstration that the conference organizers value the altruistic aspects of pure education. Now, one does not want to give away everything. Blogging during a conference should cover enough information to set the stage and whet appetites for the next conference. Important or memorable speaker quotations, pictures, and abstracts of workshops/seminars are good ways to do this.

Just after the meeting, highlight participant experiences and share important links and resources that will assist participants as they take their new knowledge and begin to apply it. Blogging after the meeting can also provide a forum where the organizers can glean information on the learning needs of the potential participants. This information will assist in program development.

Me: How should conference organizers handle outside bloggers who post about their events?

Kruglyak: Conferences are all about facilitating interaction between people by getting them to meet face to face. Blogs are all about democratizing interactions and breaking down barriers-for better or worse. There are plenty of blog search tools, like Technorati, to look for existing conversations about your meetings. Expect to find frank and unvarnished opinions and be ready to engage these new influencers in conversation. Your reputation is online for everyone to judge.

Treat them as members of the media and industry pundits. Reach out to key bloggers covering your subject matter. Request interviews, invite them as press and speakers, and use your official blog to engage in conversations already happening elsewhere.

Conferences are all about facilitating interaction between people by convening them face to face. Blogs are all about democratizing interactions and breaking down barriers-for better or worse. There are many blog search tools, like Technorati, to look for existing conversations about your meetings. Expect to find frank and unvarnished opinions and be ready to engage these new influencers in dialogue. Your reputation is online for everyone to judge.

My partner on a blogger research study, Fard Johnmar of Envision Solutions, likes to emphasize to his PR clients that connecting with bloggers can help encourage dialogue about the conference and ensure that bloggers have accurate information about the proceedings. This is especially important if some aspect of the meeting is controversial. If a blogger is covering a meeting, conference organizers should:

Additionally, it is easy to research certain blogs and understand their readership enough to determine if they might be targets for a simple banner ad campaign. Placement of banner ads on blogs is relatively inexpensive, while allowing you to reach a highly targeted and influential audience. However, placing ads often requires directly contacting the author.

Me: What do you envision the future of conferences to be, given the growing influence of blogs and other social media on everything from politics to the marketing of products?

Kruglyak: Over time conferences will deeply integrate blogs into every aspect of marketing and operations, just like they have integrated every other type of media before. Interactivity and participation afforded by blogs and social media will raise expectations of both attendees and speakers. Savvy meeting operators will use new tools to better connect with their constituents-improving both educational opportunities and financial metrics. Those who try to ignore the new media will find themselves publicly questioned by independent bloggers who can influence the hearts and minds of their audience. Do not wait for a real crisis to erupt before formulating your blog and social media strategy.

Kruglyak, who says The Medical Blog Network’s goal is to build a hub connecting bloggers, audiences, and healthcare organizations, has several projects lined up that he hopes will do just that, including the Healthcare Blogging Summit in December; and the Healthcare Blogger Survey, conducted over August/September with Fard Johnmar of Envision Solutions, that will produce a blogger opinion statistics report. His organization also is organizing a healthcare blogging education program to provide a year-round opportunity for healthcare organizations staff and medical professionals to get hands-on training on engaging blogs and social media. Also in the works, he says, is a conference resource center designed to help meeting planners find and invite bloggers, as well as promote their conferences online. For more information, e-mail Kruglyak.

Here’s the latest from the Borowitz Report:

Rocket Scientists Not as Smart as Originally Thought

New Findings in Study Commissioned by Brain Surgeons

Rocket scientists, long considered the gold standard in intelligence among all professionals, are not nearly as smart as originally thought, according to a controversial new study published today by the American Association of Brain Surgeons.



The study, which appears in the organization’s monthly publication, Popular Brain Surgery, is entitled “The Intelligence of Rocket Scientists: Myth Versus Reality,” and suggests that rocket scientists’ reputation for smartness is largely undeserved.




“It does require a superior intellect to function as a rocket scientist,” the article concedes. “Having said that, though, rocket science is not brain surgery.”




The article drew an immediate rebuke from a spokesperson for the American Society of Rocket Scientists, who blasted the study as “state-of-the-art pro-brain surgeon propaganda.”




“As rocket scientists, we take offense at this naked attempt by a devious cabal of opportunistic brain surgeons to supplant us as the smartest people on the planet,” the spokesperson said. “If rocket science is so easy, we’d like to see these so-called brain surgeons give it a try one of these days.”




Professor Davis Logsdon, a University of Minnesota expert who studies the turf wars between rocket scientists and brain surgeons, said that he believes the latest controversy between the two groups has been overplayed.




“The fact of the matter is, the smartest people in the world have always been, and will always be, University of Minnesota experts,” he said.




Elsewhere, after a backup punter at the University of Northern Colorado was accused of stabbing the starter in the leg, he said in his defense, “It was either that or start taking steroids.”

Wikis, blogs and podcasts: a new generation of Web-based tools for virtual collaborative clinical practice and education, available from Biomed Central, is a good look at how all these Web 2.0 collaborative tools may, and may not be, a good fit for medical education. A snip:

If effectively deployed, wikis, blogs and podcasts could offer a way to enhance students’, clinicians’ and patients’ learning experiences, and deepen levels of learners’ engagement and collaboration within digital learning environments. Therefore, research should be conducted to determine the best ways to integrate these tools into existing e-Learning programmes for students, health professionals and patients, taking into account the different, but also overlapping, needs of these three audience classes and the opportunities of virtual collaboration between them. Of particular importance is research into novel integrative applications, to serve as the “glue” to bind the different forms of Web-based collaborationware synergistically in order to provide a coherent wholesome learning experience.

A study recently conducted by Cutting Edge Information finds that pharma is still skittish about measuring outcomes for the CME is supports. From a press release:

Much of the industry is still skittish about violating anti-kickback laws or about failing to adhere to the guidelines set forth by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), which are designed to ensure that the industry’s medical education investments remain independent from commercial bias. The report found that as companies become more comfortable operating in the new compliance environment, they become more willing to track hard goals. In fact, a minority of companies consulted in Cutting Edge Information’s research indicated that they are considering putting some basic annual objectives in place within by 2008…



The study shows that only 24% of participating pharmaceutical companies track return on investment for their CME activities. Tracking CME performance does not have to interfere with the industry’s altruistic investments in medical education events. For example, one profiled company conducts randomized control trials to test the impact of educational events on physician behaviors, including prescribing habits.

I got a copy of this report, and plan to write it up for the December issue of Medical Meetings. I haven’t had time to delve into it in great detail yet, but there are some really interesting findings in there. If there’s anything in particular you’d really like to know, please e-mail me or leave a remark in the comments below. I’m looking forward to this one!

From Anne Taylor-Vaisey:

Just published in the September 2006 issue of Physical Therapy: Brennan GP, Fritz JM, Hunter SJ. Impact of continuing education interventions on clinical outcomes of patients with neck pain who received physical therapy. Physical Therapy 2006; 86(9):1251-1262.

Free full text is available. Read more here

Here’s an interesting analysis in HealthDay about the recent JAMA article on docs and self-assessment. A snip:

More than almost any other profession, doctors are engaged in ongoing, lifelong training in the form of continuing medical education, or CME. In fact, medical boards require that doctors engage in regular CME for their re-certification. This training refreshes a doctor’s skills while keeping them up-to-date on the latest innovations in medicine.



But, in most cases, doctors decide what their particular areas of weakness might be.




In their review, Davis and his colleagues in Canada and the United States decided to see what the accumulated data had to say about the accuracy of physician self-assessments. To do so, they focused on 17 studies comparing doctors’ self-assessments against those of an objective, external reviewer.




“In two-thirds of those studies, it appears as though physicians, without any outside means of observing their behavior, misjudged their competence,” Davis said.

David Davis, a professor of health policy management and evaluation at the University of Toronto, Canada, and lead author of the study, points to a system such as the U.K.’s appraisal system, “in which peer physicians sit down with a colleague, go through some charts, and say, ‘You know, as a GP, you seem to be very skilled in geriatrics or pediatrics, but I wonder about obstetrics?’ for example,” Davis said. That doctor would then be recommended to concentrate on obstetrics in his or her next round of CME.”