(Med)Sharing can still be caring
(Med)Sharing can still be caring
As we in Western Europe start to move slowly out of more than a year of lockdowns, the ramifications of being isolated, remote, socially distanced and interacting with the World (and one another) exclusively through our keyboards and computer screens, continue to be felt and affect us all in the medical education community. The number of teleconferences, recordings and passive viewing experiences may have risen in our daily lives during that time, but where is the discourse, debate and sense of belonging that healthcare professionals enjoy through being part of a medical community? The sharing of views, knowledge and new information in real time continues to be sorely missed. We know that attending sessions at physical conferences are only part of the enjoyment of such events, equalled by speaking directly to fellow specialists, posing questions to key opinion leaders and engaging with those from all corners of the world in the same location and, importantly, face-to-face.
It’s no surprise therefore, that medical education providers and funders have looked to platforms and formats where the latest developments, hot topics and new data can be presented, digested, disseminated and, crucially, shared by specialists exchanging opinions and views openly with one another.
With this in mind, Springer Healthcare IME are pleased to have teamed up with MedShr on a number of programs, with the purpose of spreading education through an engaging, secure and easily accessible web app. MedShr have an extensive membership of GPs and specialists from across the globe, who use the app to share and discuss images and cases for peer-to-peer learning and formal learning.
With over a million members worldwide, the app offers a personalised way for HCPs to interact and share comments directly with fellow professionals in their specialty or with the same interests. More than just a discussion forum, MedShr’s app allows case-based learning, peer-to-peer engagement with cases, assessments and multidisciplinary discussions with colleagues. Moreover, HCPs are able to share and reflect on their real world experiences to a verified network of HCPs in a matter of minutes. As a collaborative educational provider, MedShr allows us to both reach and engage HCPs at scale on whatever device they prefer to use, whenever they want to use it.
We have just completed the first collaboration of this kind that uses the principles of microlearning to educate HCPs through cardiovascular cases, which was made possible with educational funding by Novo Nordisk A/S. The education programme proved extremely popular and produced some successful educational outcomes. In fact, this programme has just been selected as a finalist at the Communiqué Awards 2021 in the excellence in professional education category. At the time of writing, there are a number of other education collaborations we are also working on with MedShr across the diabetes and cardiovascular space with grants from Novo Nordisk A/S and Boehringer Ingleheim.
So, even in these uncertain times, whilst we are still all feeling our way back into communal gatherings and remaining slightly dubious about visiting large arenas for cross-continental discourse, there are still ways to learn, hear from others in your specialty and voice your opinions, with the aim, as ever, of ensuring optimal patient care.
Contact info@medshr.net for more details on this innovative case-sharing education platform.
For HCPs visit https://medshr.it/ to join MedShr for free
By James Hutton, Senior Project Director, Springer Healthcare IME