WikEmerg is a 3 part project:

The Wiki – a MetaFilter

The Wiki section is an attempt to organize the web, and especially FOAMed, content. The Internet is a vast content sinkhole. Most of us don’t have the time, energy, or inclination to dig very deep. We use Google (or GoogleFOAM!), get recommendations from colleagues or learners, or follow a few high quality blogs and podcasts. We can’t all be Scott Weingart (EMCrit), David Newman (SmartEM), or Joe Lex (FreeEmergencyTalks), so we rely on them, and folks like them, to filter and process the content.

Even then it can be a bit of a chore to dig out that specific bit on a specific topic at a moment’s notice, even with GoogleFOAM… So I have created a curated list of resources for EM Topics. With kind permission, I have used Reuben Strayer’s (EMUpdates) Diagnosis, Therapeutics, and Procedures list to structure the initial Topic List. Most topics are just a list of links right now but I hope that, with some help, we can structure each topic into a more useful narrative structure.

The Wiki is intended to be a ‘meta’ site. Some original content may appear here, but mostly topics should be a curated guide to currently available outside resources on any given topic. This is a step further than a curated search engine like GoogleFOAM.com, and several steps beyond a basic Google or Bing search. I am a huge FOAM proponent and so preference should be given to Free and Open Access resources, but there is no prohibition on linking to subscription or pay sites, so long as this is explicit in the article or link, and the end result is high quality information.

The Lectures – a way to organize a ‘Flipped’ Curriculum

This section is a place to add a lecture series (like a residency or clerkship curriculum). Each ‘Lecture’ has a place to post Objectives, Videos, Documents, etc. Each time a lecture is given, the presenter can add a ‘Presentation’ – Audio or Video content, Lecture notes, Presentation documents. This acts like a ChangeLog for the lecture. The next time that lecture is assigned, the new presenter can start with the previous presentation and ADD to it rather than RECREATE it. This has a number of benefits:

• By seeing what was presented before, the topic can be presented consistently across years.
• Having the previous material to review and incorporate means less work, and more time to focus on adding the latest and greatest
• Learners have access to the most up to date information
• Programs have a ‘History’ of their topics, and can check to ensure the material is meeting their standards.
• Why RE-invent the wheel every year when you can make a better one instead?

The Rounds – personalized repository of your talks

This section is for posting your unique, one-off talks. These could be your departmental Grand Rounds, Conference Talks, or Research Days. Each ‘Round’ is identified by the Creator and Institution, and can be searched or filtered that way as well. In addition to the primary media (audio or video), you can post all of the related material, documents and other bits associated with the talk, as well as interact with peers via the comment section.

‘Rounds’ is intended to be a personal or institutional repository of talks and sessions. This can be shared as part of a CV, an online professional profile (like LinkedIn or Doximity), or for later review if someone missed the talk. I think it is criminal that many talks simply vanish after being given once – we all work damned hard on them so they should endure if possible. I also think that paper slide handouts are a waste – there are vast opportunities for further, deeper learning by pointing people at your sources, and making that sharing easy.

[This post is excerpted from an interview I did with Michele Lin at Academic Life in Emergency Medicine]