Free Open Access Medical Education

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Free Open Access Medical Education (FOAM or FOAMed) is a dynamic collection of online resources and tools designed to promote lifelong learning in emergency medicine. The term was coined in June 2012 at the International Conference on Emergency Medicine in Dublin. [1]

Contents

Description

The FOAM movement arose in response to the broader Open Educational Resources (OER) movement, reflecting the growing demand for freely available, high-quality educational materials. [2] It gained momentum with the rapid growth of social media and digital platforms, which revolutionised how medical information is accessed and shared. [3]

FOAM is defined by its accessibility via online text- and media-sharing platforms [1] and incorporates formats such as blogs, podcasts, and social media posts. More formal learning resources such as online question banks, YouTube videos, and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), are also components of FOAM. [2]

Impact

FOAM is highly popular among medical students and clinicians. For example, a 2014 survey of emergency medicine residents in the state of Utah found the online audio series EM:RAP was used by some 80% of residents. [4] The accessibility of FOAM materials is considered foundational to the wide dissemination of current medical knowledge, particularly in underserved regions. [5] However, concerns have been raised about the lack of formal peer review and quality control over many FOAM materials. [6] Resource creation is often geographically concentrated, potentially excluding perspectives from lower-resource regions. [5]

Notable FOAM resources

PlatformCountry of OriginYear FoundedPrimary FocusTarget Audience
Academic Life in Emergency Medicine (ALiEM) United States 2009 Emergency medicine education and leadershipEmergency medicine professionals
CanadiEM Canada 2015Emergency medicine and critical care Healthcare professionals and trainees [2]
Don't Forget The Bubbles Australia 2013 Paediatric medicine Paediatricians, healthcare professionals, and parents [7]
EMCrit United States2009Critical care and emergency medicineCritical care specialists and emergency physicians [8]
Life in the Fast LaneAustralia2007Emergency medicine and critical careGlobal healthcare professionals [9]
MedShr United Kingdom 2015Case-based learning Medical students and healthcare professionals [10]
PaediatricFOAMGlobal2017Paediatrics and critical careHealthcare providers and students [7]
REBEL EMUnited States2013Emergency medicine and critical careMedical professionals [11]
St. Emlyn'sUnited Kingdom2012Emergency medicine educationHealthcare professionals and students [12]
The Resus RoomUnited Kingdom2015Emergency medicine and resuscitationHealthcare professionals [13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Nickson, CP; Cadogan, MD (2014). "Free Open Access Medical Education (FOAM) for the Emergency Physician". Emerg Med Australas. 26 (1): 76–83. doi:10.1111/1742-6723.12191. PMID   24495067.
  2. 1 2 3 Cadogan, M; Thoma, B; Chan, TM; Lin, M (2014). "Free Open Access Meducation (FOAM): The Rise of Emergency Medicine and Critical Care Blogs and Podcasts (2002–2013)". Emerg Med J. 31 (e1): e76 –e77. doi:10.1136/emermed-2013-203502. PMID   24554447.
  3. ↑ Roland, D; Spurr, J; Cabrera, D (2017). "Preliminary Evidence for the Emergence of a Health Care Online Community of Practice: Using a Netnographic Framework for Twitter Hashtag Analytics". J Med Internet Res. 19 (7): e252. doi: 10.2196/jmir.7072 . PMC   5533942 . PMID   28710054.
  4. ↑ Mallin, M; Schlein, S; Doctor, S; Stroud, S; Dawson, M; Fix, M (2014). "A Survey of the Current Utilisation of Asynchronous Education Among Emergency Medicine Residents in the United States". Acad Med. 89 (4): 598–601. doi:10.1097/ACM.0000000000000170. PMC   4885578 . PMID   24556776.
  5. 1 2 Burkholder, TW; Bellows, JW; King, RA (2018). "Free Open Access Medical Education (FOAM) in Emergency Medicine: The Global Distribution of Users in 2016". West J Emerg Med. 19 (3): 600–605. doi:10.5811/westjem.2018.3.36825. PMC   5942031 . PMID   29760862.
  6. ↑ Chan, TM; Grock, A; Paddock, M; Kulasegaram, K; Yarris, LM; Lin, M (2016). "Examining Reliability and Validity of an Online Score (ALiEM AIR) for Rating Free Open Access Medical Education Resources". Ann Emerg Med. 68 (6): 729–735. doi:10.1016/j.annemergmed.2016.02.018. PMID   27033141.
  7. 1 2 "About Us". Paediatric FOAM. 28 January 2016. Retrieved 2024-11-27.
  8. ↑ "EMCrit" . Retrieved 2024-11-27.
  9. ↑ "Life in the Fast Lane". Life in the Fast Lane. Retrieved 2024-11-27.
  10. ↑ "MedShr" . Retrieved 2024-11-27.
  11. ↑ "About Us". REBEL EM. Retrieved 2024-11-27.
  12. ↑ "St. Emlyn's". St. Emlyn's. Retrieved 2024-11-27.
  13. ↑ "FOAMed Resources". The Resus Room. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 2024-11-27.
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