WikEM
{{short description|Medical website and point-of-care phone application}}
{{Infobox Website
| name = WikEM
| logo =
| url = [http://www.wikem.org/ www.WikEM.org]
| type = wiki
| language = English
| owner = OpenEM Foundation
| author =
| registration = required (to edit)
}}
WikEM is wiki-based medical website and point-of-care phone application for emergency medicine clinicians.{{cite web |url=http://www.wikem.org |title=WikEM |date=April 29, 2014 |website=www.wikem.org |publisher=OpenEM Foundation |accessdate=June 23, 2014}} WikEM is owned by OpenEM Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wikem.org/wiki/WikEM:About|title=WikEM:About - WikEM|website=www.wikem.org|access-date=2019-10-04}} WikEM initially started as a database created from notes and checklists passed from resident class to subsequent resident class at the Harbor-UCLA emergency medicine residency program.{{cite journal |last=Castro |first=Harvey |date=April 2010 |title=Wikipedia and the iPhone |journal=Emergency Medicine News |volume=32 |issue=4 |publisher=Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc. |doi=10.1097/01.EEM.0000369262.69911.38 |s2cid=220589224 |doi-access=free }}{{cite web |url=http://www.imedicalapps.com/2013/01/wikem-app-free-emergency-medicine-notes/ |title=WikEM app brings free emergency medicine notes to all |last1=Lewis |first1=Tom |date=January 10, 2013 |website=iMedicalApps |accessdate=June 23, 2014}} In 2009, WikEM was launched as a free wiki-based website and phone application that was universally available to all residency programs and global practitioners. As of October 2019, WikiEM has about 4,050 content pages.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wikem.org/wiki/Special:Statistics|title=WikEM|last=|first=|date=|website=www.wikem.org|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2019-10-04}}
Emergency medicine practitioners have been quick to adopt smart phone applications, including WikEM, for use as point-of-care medical references.{{cite web |url=http://www.thedoctorweighsin.com/iphone-apps-for-er-docs-yeah/ |title=iPhone Apps for ER docs – yeah |first1=Pat |last1=Salber |date=February 7, 2011 |website=The Doctor Weighs In |accessdate=June 23, 2014}} WikEM has been listed as a key reference for emergency medicine physicians, residents, medical students, nurses,{{cite web |url=http://onlinelpntorn.org/terrific-nurse-apps/ |title=Our Guide to Terrific Apps Every Nurse Should Be Using |author= |date= |website=OnlineLPNtoRN.org |accessdate=June 23, 2014}} and paramedics.{{cite web |url=http://www.paramedictorn.org/trauma-care.html |title=100 Helpful Trauma Sites to Bookmark |author= |date= |website=ParamedictoRN.org |accessdate=June 23, 2014}}
Reliability
Although the use of wiki-type software has become common for a variety of purposes, several sources have questioned whether the wiki-based format of WikEM is reliable enough to use as a source for medical information, with arguments similar to questions about the reliability of Wikipedia plus the additional concerns of patient safety.
Free open access meducation
Free open access meducation (FOAM) has been described as “medical education for anyone, anywhere, anytime”{{cite web |url=http://lifeinthefastlane.com/foam/ |title=FOAM |author= |date=February 6, 2014 |website=Life in the Fast Lane |accessdate=June 23, 2014}} and WikEM has been described as a key resource in the FOAM movement.{{cite web |url=http://blogs.bmj.com/emj/2014/02/03/tweeting-locally-reaching-globally/ |title=Tweeting Locally, Reaching Globally |last1=Radecki |first1=Ryan |date=February 3, 2014 |website=BMJ Group Blogs |publisher=BMJ Publishing Group Limited |accessdate=June 23, 2014}} WikEM's free, openly accessible content has been specifically noted as an important growing resource for clinicians in the developing world, where access to up to date medical references is more difficult. However, to date, WikEM is limited in this regard in that its content is only available in the English language.
Mobile apps
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://wikem.org/ www.WikEM.org]
- [http://www.emedharbor.edu/ Harbor-UCLA Emergency Medicine Residency Program]