MEDICAL FACULTY AND TRAINEES USE BLOGGING TO HEIGHTEN EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE

New York, NY – September 4, 2007 – Faculty and residents in the Department of Medicine at New York University have established an online blog entitled “Clinical Correlations” (http://www.clinicalcorrelations.org).  The blog, one of the first of its kind, is being used as a succinct way to help busy physicians answer difficult clinical questions and keep abreast of the quick pace of changes in current medical practice. 

Medical students, residents and faculty are invited to submit postings to the blog, with the goal of generating a wide range of discussions related to the practice of medicine. In an effort to assure the quality and accuracy of the contributions, all submissions to the blog are evaluated and reviewed in detail by a member of the writing staff and then ultimately approved by the editorial board.

Postings on the blog are varied and include residents and medical students are also encouraged to submit specific questions “to the blog” which are then answered online by more senior faculty experts. The blog is open to the public, and comments from medical professionals outside the department are welcome.

 The blog’s founder and editor-in-chief Dr. Neil Shapiro, an assistant professor of medicine and associate program director for the internal medicine residency program at New York University School of Medicine, states “the blog was created initially to encourage our housestaff to read on a daily basis.  Everyday, everywhere we look-on the wards, in the news, in the clinic we can find physicians practicing and discussing many fascinating aspects of medicine.  With the blog we hope to capture these moments and thus inspire physicians both novice and seasoned alike.”  A second year internal medicine resident at NYU Bani Chander agrees, stating “The blog has created an accessible resource for me to keep up to date on breaking research in a time-efficient manner. It is so comforting to know that we have a place to pose our complex clinical questions and receive expert opinions. Best of all, as an avid writer, I love being able to contribute articles because I’ve learned so much from writing posts.”   

Medical residents and attendings alike are often overwhelmed by long hours spent taking care of patients in the inpatient and outpatient settings.  The time that can be devoted to academic pursuits, such as keeping up with the current medical literature is often very limited. Clinical Correlations is an easily accessible new forum which serves as a source of enrichment and provides a quick way to collectively keep up with the fast pace of medicine.

For information: http://www.clinicalcorrelations.org

###