WikEM
WikEM is wiki-based medical website and point-of-care phone application for emergency medicine clinicians.[1] WikiEM is owned by OpenEM Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.[2] 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.[3][4] 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.[3] As of October 2019, WikiEM has about 4,050 content pages.[5]
Type of site | wiki |
---|---|
Available in | English |
Owner | OpenEM Foundation |
URL | www.WikEM.org |
Registration | required (to edit) |
Emergency medicine practitioners have been quick to adopt smart phone applications, including WikEM, for use as point-of-care medical references.[6] WikEM has been listed as a key reference for emergency medicine physicians,[6] residents,[4] medical students,[4] nurses,[7] and paramedics.[8]
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,[3] 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”[9] and WikEM has been described as a key resource in the FOAM movement.[10] 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.[10] However, to date, WikEM is limited in this regard in that its content is only available in the English language.[10]
Mobile apps
Although WikEM auto-formats for mobile devices, there are offline applications for Android and IPhone specifically designed for rural and international medicine in austere and Internet-poor environments.
See also
References
- "WikEM". www.wikem.org. OpenEM Foundation. April 29, 2014. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
- "WikEM:About - WikEM". www.wikem.org. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
- Castro, Harvey (April 2010). "Wikipedia and the iPhone". Emergency Medicine News. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc. 32 (4). doi:10.1097/01.EEM.0000369262.69911.38. S2CID 220589224.
- Lewis, Tom (January 10, 2013). "WikEM app brings free emergency medicine notes to all". iMedicalApps. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
- "WikEM". www.wikem.org. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
- Salber, Pat (February 7, 2011). "iPhone Apps for ER docs – yeah". The Doctor Weighs In. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
- "Our Guide to Terrific Apps Every Nurse Should Be Using". OnlineLPNtoRN.org. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
- "100 Helpful Trauma Sites to Bookmark". ParamedictoRN.org. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
- "FOAM". Life in the Fast Lane. February 6, 2014. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
- Radecki, Ryan (February 3, 2014). "Tweeting Locally, Reaching Globally". BMJ Group Blogs. BMJ Publishing Group Limited. Retrieved June 23, 2014.