WikEM elective and asynchronous learning

Background

Proudly Supports the WikEM Elective

This page outlines the use of WikEM as a reading elective and/or asynchronous learning platform for medical residency programs. The project is organized by OpenEM Foundation and the "WikEM Elective" is officially endorsed by the American Academy of Emergency Medicine Resident Student Association. Residency programs across the globe are encouraged to participate.

Rationale

Many emergency medicine and other medical specialty residency programs offer "reading electives" for several weeks of their curriculum and/or have asynchronous learning activities (aka “individualized interactive instruction”). The U.S. Emergency Medicine Residency Review Committee (RRC) allows residents to use asynchronous learning for up to 20% of educational time.

However, these activities can be difficult to monitor, leading to numerous problems in documentation and performance. The WikEM Elective and its asynchronous learning platform allows residency programs to better supervise residents as they study topics of their own choosing.

Additionally, all contributions are then in the open domain as part of the open access movement, thus benefiting medical practitioners around the globe, as well as being immediately available to the contributor, their fellow residents, and their residency program via the WikEM website and its native mobile applications.

Benefits

• WikEM serves as a point of care source of medical information for practitioners around the world and resident contributions are read by tens of thousands of people!
• By editing and writing content, residents engage in active learning and synthesize the medical literature into "need to know" bedside pearls and treatment information.
• By referencing work, residents will stay current with evidence based medicine.
• Most importantly, the elective is a time to have fun learning and writing about emergency medicine topics and giving back to the entire community.

Getting Started

Thanks for wanting to help out on WikEM! People are the core of the wiki. Your knowledge translates into improved bedside practice for everyone.

To get started

• Download our mobile app (if you haven't already done so)
• Create an Account on the website
• Read our editing guidelines
• Start editing!
  • You automatically move up the WikEM editorial levels to become part of our editorial board
  • All medical practitioners welcome (e.g. physicians, mid level-providers, nurses, pharmacists, medical students, paramedics)

If you are looking for ways to contribute

• See Helping out on WikEM for ideas on how to help
• Follow what everyone else is doing on WikEM at Recent Changes

Also

• Consider donating to help our WikEM support free software and educational resources
• Track your progress and become a WikEM Editor via our open and transparent promotion process

Requirements

Tracking the Contribution Score

• For asynchronous learning documentation, each 1 hour = 0.5 contributions points
• Residents are responsible for achieving a contribution score of 20 for every one week of WikEM Elective
• Progress is easily tracked at on the Contribution Score page

Documentation

• WiKEM software tracks all edits residents make and can serve as proof of activity during the WikEM elective.
• For a history off all edits, go to to: http://www.wikem.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/YOUR-USER-NAME
  • For example, for username = Ostermayer: http://www.wikem.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Ostermayer
  • You may want to print out this page for your residency program director
• Contact info@wikem.org if you need an official certificate for a residency elective.

Contact Info

Contact info@wikem.org if you have questions.

See Also

• WikEM editorial levels