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Educational Obstetric and Gynecological Discussion Forums in the Internet

Educational Obstetric and Gynecological Discussion Forums in the Internet

 

KH Tan 

MRCOG MMED(O&G) FAMS (OBGYN)
Maternal Fetal Medicine Department,
KK Women’s & Children’s Hospital Singapore

Email: kelvin@tan.net Internet: http://tan.net
Moderator: news:sci.med.obgyn

This poster (powerpoint and html format) could be downloaded from Internet at http://www.tan.net/figo

 

Educational OBGYN Discussion Forums in the Internet

The Internet is the world’s largest electronic network with over 20 million computers and 40 million people linked up worldwide. Discussion forums have mushroomed at an unprecedented rate in this Information Superhighway.

The aim of this paper is to review the various types and functions of Obstetric & Gynecological (OBGYN) electronic discussion forums in the Internet.

A quick search was made in Internet through established Search Engines (Alta Vista, Infoseek & Lycos, Directories (Yahoo) and Web Gateways (www.obgyn.net & kkh.com). All discussions forums related to OBGYN that were found within half an hour of searching are identified and classified.

A total of 13 Usenet Newsgroups, 21 Usenet Support Newsgroups, 11 Email Listservers and 1 IRC dedicated chat group & 6 WWW-based discussions forums related to OBGYN was identified.

O&G USENET NEWSGROUPS

    sci.med.obgyn
    An international newsgroup dedicated to the worldwide discussion and advancement of the science and practice of obstetrics. Moderated.

Related OBGYN Support Newsgroups

Search within Newsgroups

E-MAIL LISTS OF INTEREST TO OBSTETRICS & GYNECOLOGY

    ob-gyn-l@obgyn.net
    An open, unmoderated list for ob-gyn physicians.

    gyn-docs@oac1.oac.tju.edu
    Discussion of academic topics in Gynecology.

    androlog@uic.edu
    Moderated discussion of research on male reproduction and treatment of infertility.

    embryo-l@ggpl.arsusda.gov
    Moderated discussion of all aspects of mammalian embryology.

    spermail@cleo.murdoch.edu.au
    Discussion of the general aspects of comparative sperm form and function.

    reprendo@world.std.com
    Discussions related to reproductive endocrinology.

    obgyn-imatics@icsi.net OBGYN-IMATICS is an e-mail list for the OBGYN Informatics Group.

    obstet-l
    Discussion list about obstetrics, perinatology, fetal medicine and neonatology in Portuguese and Spanish.

    OBGYN.line mailing list - Italian migl601@pn.itnet.it

    isge-list@isge.org Gynecologic Endoscopy

    FHMPP-L Fetal Heart Monitor Discussion Mail List

WEB-BASED O&G DISCUSSION GROUPS

INTERNET RELAY CHAT (IRC) GROUPS

    EFNET: #obgyn

Educational OBGYN Discussion Forums in the Internet

Substantial number of relevant forums now exist for networking and education in OBGYN. The number of discussions groups identified in this poster using a quick half an hour search through established Internet search engines and directories probably underrepresented the total number of OBGYN discussion forums in the Internet

Discussions covers both general and specific topics. Moderated and unmoderated forums are available within WWW, dedicated Email Lists and Usenet Newsgroups.

Usenet Newsgroups are the oldest but they are still popular. Email Listservers are also proliferating. Web based discussions groups are few but are beginning to increase. They have the advantages of simplicity and familiarity. Integration of the facilities like between email list and web based presentation (as in ob-gyn-l) enhances the usefulness and flexibility of the forum.

Patients and laypersons are very active in most forums. It is important OBGYN physicians are cognizant of this activity. Worldwide support groups by patients and facilitators are also been formed through these forums.

Popular and important electronic forums include alt.infertility, sci.med.obgyn, misc.kids.pregnancy and OB-GYN-L listserver.

The number of professionals participating in discussions forums has also increased rapidly. This discussions brought a new dimension for participating OBGYNs - knowledge can be shared worldwide easily between people who have not met each other before, giving a global perspective on OBGYN issues daily. This new way of interaction can be enjoyable or heated but is usually useful to the participants. This would slowly be a part of the life of a interactive OBGYN in our changing world. Even after each FIGO, the discussions can still go on …. in the Internet.

Anyone or any OBGYN group can easily create any discussion forums in WWW, newsgroups and email listservers. However whether it is popular or viable depends on the number and keeness of the participant given adequate dissemination of the existence of the group. Therefore a discussion forum can be just 2 person communicating or reading (narrow-casting) or a large group of over 500 participants (broadcasting range).

Concerns of legal liability, medical ethics as well as confidentiality and validity of worldwide electronic medical consultation and communication need to be addressed urgently.

Discussion forums in Internet serve important functions including communication, networking, education and research. Electronic discussion forums in Internet will play an increasingly important role in OBGYN practice, networking and education in the near future. Substantial scope exists for the development of OBGYN education over the Internet through such forums.