The Rheumatologist
COVID-19 News
  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed
  • Home
  • Conditions
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • SLE (Lupus)
    • Crystal Arthritis
      • Gout Resource Center
    • Spondyloarthritis
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Soft Tissue Pain
    • Scleroderma
    • Vasculitis
    • Systemic Inflammatory Syndromes
    • Guidelines
  • Resource Centers
    • Axial Spondyloarthritis Resource Center
    • Gout Resource Center
    • Psoriatic Arthritis Resource Center
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
    • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
  • Drug Updates
    • Biologics & Biosimilars
    • DMARDs & Immunosuppressives
    • Topical Drugs
    • Analgesics
    • Safety
    • Pharma Co. News
  • Professional Topics
    • Ethics
    • Legal
    • Legislation & Advocacy
    • Career Development
      • Certification
      • Education & Training
    • Awards
    • Profiles
    • President’s Perspective
    • Rheuminations
    • Interprofessional Perspective
  • Practice Management
    • Billing/Coding
    • Quality Assurance/Improvement
    • Workforce
    • Facility
    • Patient Perspective
    • Electronic Health Records
    • Apps
    • Information Technology
    • From the College
    • Multimedia
      • Audio
      • Video
  • Resources
    • Issue Archives
    • ACR Convergence
      • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
      • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
      • Gout Resource Center
      • Abstracts
      • Meeting Reports
      • ACR Convergence Home
    • American College of Rheumatology
    • ACR ExamRheum
    • Research Reviews
    • ACR Journals
      • Arthritis & Rheumatology
      • Arthritis Care & Research
      • ACR Open Rheumatology
    • Rheumatology Image Library
    • Treatment Guidelines
    • Rheumatology Research Foundation
    • Events
  • About Us
    • Mission/Vision
    • Meet the Authors
    • Meet the Editors
    • Contribute to The Rheumatologist
    • Subscription
    • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Search
You are here: Home / Articles / Award Recipient Advances Rheumatology Education with e-Learning Tools

Award Recipient Advances Rheumatology Education with e-Learning Tools

April 1, 2013 • By Staff

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version / Save PDF

Today’s medical students, residents, and fellows are accustomed to learning via Internet-based and smartphone-enabled technology which can showcase medical advances faster than textbooks or other traditional educational tools.

You Might Also Like
  • Pediatric Researcher Turns American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Award into a Learning Experience
  • Advances in Education for Rheumatology Health Professionals: A Review & an Opportunity
  • ACR Online Tools for Learning and Teaching
Explore This Issue
April 2013
Also By This Author
  • Navigating the Social Media Highway

Christopher Collins, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center and program director for the fellowship program in the division of rheumatology at Washington Hospital Center, both in Washington, D.C., is working diligently to supply state-of-the-art e-learning tools for use in rheumatology education.

ad goes here:advert-1
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Using funds he received from the Rheumatology Research Foundation’s Clinician Scholar Educator Award, Dr. Collins has launched an interactive, case-based website, www.rheumwire.com, started a Twitter feed with advice for medical trainees and physicians interested in rheumatology, and created a repository website that houses his educational tweets.

In its initial stages, www.rheumwire.com featured interesting cases presented at monthly conferences held by several rheumatology training programs in the Washington, D.C. area. “The idea was to highlight some of these cases in an interactive format that is Web-based and could be made available to a broader audience,” Dr. Collins said.

ad goes here:advert-2
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Foundation funds allowed Dr. Collins to educate himself in e-learning and Web-based design. The website he created presents cases in both a storytelling mode and an interactive, search-and-discover approach. Dr. Collins measures the usefulness of the website through surveys that ask visitors to indicate the value of the case-based and didactic information presented.

The website also features educational pearls of wisdom written by Dr. Collins. The popularity of these nuggets spawned the stand-alone Twitter project that he calls a social media experiment in medical education. Dr. Collins launched his Twitter feed, @rheumpearls, by tweeting one piece of knowledge each day. The feed has attracted more than 1,000 followers, including patients interested in learning more about rheumatic diseases. He estimates that one-third of these followers are patients with rheumatic diseases.

“I think Twitter is a very interesting social media phenomenon with a lot of potential for education,” Dr. Collins said. “Our attention spans are quite narrow at times, so if you can pump something out in 140 characters and have it stick with somebody, that is an opportunity to explore further.”

ad goes here:advert-3
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Along with the Twitter feed, Dr. Collins developed www.rheumpearls.com, a website that serves as a repository for his rheumatology-related tweets. The website has garnered almost 9,000 unique visitors from 102 countries.

These websites and social media initiatives are just the beginning of a trend toward using social media and the Web as a major channel for education, said Dr. Collins. He plans to launch additional Web initiatives focused on case-based learning. He also plans to work with rheumatology colleagues to create smartphone applications and test additional Twitter feeds or Facebook pages geared toward education or patient advocacy.

Pages: 1 2 | Single Page

Filed Under: Education & Training, From the College Tagged With: AC&R, education and training, Rheumatology Research Foundation, TechnologyIssue: April 2013

You Might Also Like:
  • Pediatric Researcher Turns American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Award into a Learning Experience
  • Advances in Education for Rheumatology Health Professionals: A Review & an Opportunity
  • ACR Online Tools for Learning and Teaching
  • Dr. Sou-Pan Wu Is the First Recipient of the Norman B. Gaylis Research Award

Simple Tasks

Learn more about the ACR’s public awareness campaign and how you can get involved. Help increase visibility of rheumatic diseases and decrease the number of people left untreated.

Visit the Simple Tasks site »

American College of Rheumatology

Visit the official website for the American College of Rheumatology.

Visit the ACR »

ACR Convergence

Don’t miss rheumatology’s premier scientific meeting for anyone involved in research or the delivery of rheumatologic care or services.

Visit the ACR Convergence site »

The Rheumatologist newsmagazine reports on issues and trends in the management and treatment of rheumatic diseases. The Rheumatologist reaches 11,500 rheumatologists, internists, orthopedic surgeons, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who practice, research, or teach in the field of rheumatology.

About Us / Contact Us / Advertise / Privacy Policy / Terms of Use

  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed

Copyright © 2006–2022 American College of Rheumatology. All rights reserved.

ISSN 1931-3268 (print)
ISSN 1931-3209 (online)