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NewsletterCME on the Web In April 2000, Continuing Medical Education made its debut on the SCA web page (www.scahq.org). For our Society, this is a true milestone that every member needs to be aware of. In this message, I would like to briefly describe the contents of the educational material, acknowledge the efforts of those that have made it possible, and say a few words about the future. If you go to the SCA web page, you will find a new heading, "CME" on the masthead. When you click on CME, you will first find statements about SCA's CME mission and target audience. At present, no CME credits will be offered for completion of the educational quizzes. In the future, SCA plans to offer such credits to its members only. This will require that each member have secure access to the web page. In an upcoming mailing, the process for gaining secure access will be explained to you. At some point, SCA leadership may also decide that access to the educational material itself will be limited to active members. Under the mission and target audience description, you will find a standard "Disclaimer" statement. Acceptance of its terms will be necessary to proceed to the educational material. The first educational vignette is entitled: "Echocardiographic assessment of patients undergoing ventricular assist device placement". It is authored by Ivan S. Salgo, M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and describes the clinical course of a 35-year-old male, who suffered from ventricular failure and required a left ventricular device placement. As you proceed through the case, you will be given clinical information, shown echocardio-graphic images, including video clips, and will be asked questions concerning the findings and the patient's management. The second vignette is entitled: "The bleeding patient following cardiopulmonary bypass" and is authored by E. Price Stover, M.D. from Stanford University. The case describes a 38-year-old male who has undergone a Ross procedure with a cardiopulmonary bypass time of two hours and forty minutes. Following separation from CPB, the patient is noted to have diffuse mediastinal bleeding. The vignette then proceeds with 14 multiple choice questions concerning this patient's management and general knowledge about hemostasis. At the completion of the quiz, your answers can be scored. Both of these case discussions are fun to complete, while being of the highest educational caliber. Drs. Stover and Salgo deserve the gratitude of all SCA members for having developed this novel educational material and advanced the Society's educational mission in doing so. In addition to the two authors, David Reich, M.D. and the members of the SCA Web Page Task Force also need to be acknowledged. Getting this project started was not without pain, but the Task Force remained committed and focused. The results are a testimony to their dedication and perseverance. Finally, Heather Spiess and her colleagues at Ruggles need to be thanked for their technical assistance. Having jumped into this new universe of on-line CME, SCA now faces a number of significant issues. The first relates to the granting of CME credits. While SCA intends to proceed in this direction, the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education has not yet published clear guidelines for such activity. Undoubtedly, ACCME's "Essentials & Standards" will evolve as on-line education becomes a more important component of continuing medical education. SCA will monitor this evolution closely and ensure that it retains its full ACCME accreditation. The second issue relates to peer review and editorial control of the published material. Clearly, the intent is to provide educational material that is scientifically sound, as judged by a peer review process. At present, this responsibility falls to the Web Page Task Force. In the future, it may be necessary to develop a more formal editorial process that is explicitly defined. The final issue is of broader nature. How will most anesthesiologists obtain their continuing medical education 5 years from now? Will we just stay home and learn on the web or will we continue to attend scientific meetings? How will scientific meetings need to be altered to retain their importance and attractiveness? Will we have a virtual society with members from around the world joining chat rooms to participate in educational discussions? Answers to each of these questions will have major implications for how SCA positions itself in the near future. Clearly, continuing medical education is undergoing exciting changes, but the future is not without challenges for SCA and other professional organizations. If you have comments or suggestions on these issues, please feel free to communicate them to me by email at sca@societyhq.com or at dthys@slrhc.org. After editorial review by the Newsletter Committee, they will be published. One of my hopes is that the SCA Newsletter will develop into a forum for active discussion on topics that interest us all. Daniel M. Thys, MD |