Canadian innovation brings new learning tools
to the next generation of physicians around the World
TORONTO, Sept. 20, 2016 /CNW/ - No matter where they are, the next generation of physicians will now be able to learn from the best medical professors in the world for free. Launching today, medskl.com will make medical education more accessible and more effective.
A Canadian innovation, medskl.com is a new way of teaching medicine. The open-access, online resource uses video lectures, white-board animations and summary notes to help students and doctors diagnose and treat a broad range of illnesses.
Dr. Sanjay Sharma, a retina specialist and professor of ophthalmology and epidemiology at Queen's University, came up with the concept after recognizing that the traditional medical lectures were not the ideal learning environment for digital natives. "Today's students are attuned to learning online, not sitting through long didactic lectures," he notes.
Dr. Sharma and his team spent two years reaching out to medical schools and students across North America to identify the best professors to be involved in the project. To date, over 170 professors have been recruited to author the content, drawn from such prestigious centres as the University of Toronto, Queen's, McGill, Dalhousie and UBC here in Canada, and Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Johns Hopkins and Mayo Clinic in the U.S.
"The lessons are designed to be short, fun and engaging so the information sticks," Dr. Sharma explains. The learning modules are also meant to support the 'flipped classroom' approach now being used in many leading North American medical schools where students learn material outside the classroom and use lecture time instead for discussion.
Some 100 modules have been created so far, and approximately another 100 modules are to be added in the next few months.
Since the soft launch of medskl.com in July, students from over 50 universities have already registered. Most Canadian medical schools will start using medskl.com content this Fall. In the U.S., Yale, Johns Hopkins, and Duke will be incorporating medskl.com into their medical curriculum this year.
And because medskl.com is available anywhere there is an internet connection, it will help remove barriers to medical education throughout the world.
"While we tend to think of medical care as being the exclusive domain of physicians, in a holistic sense it is often delivered by others, especially in developing countries," Dr. Sharma notes.
"Our goal is to bring this information to a global audience, and medskl.com now makes it possible. Medical students, caregivers and patients – whether they're located in Toronto, Lagos, Mumbai or anywhere else – can now learn from the best professors and the most effective educational resources."
Go to medskl.com to find out more, meet the Faculty, and view the learning modules.
Dr. Sanjay Sharma is available for interviews.
Participating professors and students at medical schools are also be available for interviews in the following centres:
St. John's, NL
Halifax, NS
Saint John, NB
Montreal, Sherbrooke, QC
Ottawa, Kingston, Toronto, Hamilton, Sudbury, London, ON
Saskatoon, SK
Calgary, Edmonton, AB
Vancouver, BC
About medskl.com
medskl.com is an international effort to digitize medical education. Its authors are award-winning Faculty members from many of North America's leading medical schools. The learning modules are available for free.
About Dr. Sanjay Sharma
Dr. Sanjay Sharma is an ophthalmologist who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of retina diseases. He is the Director of the Retina Service in the Hotel Dieu Hospital in Kingston, Ontario and also is a professor of ophthalmology and epidemiology at Queen's University. Dr. Sharma is the author of over 200 articles and three books. He has received awards from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
SOURCE medskl
Media Contact: Megan Stephens, [email protected], 416-777-0368
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