Integrated Telematic Services and Communication Through Scientific IRC: Virtual User Communities of Biomedicine in UNInet

Re: Electronic journal club in molecular pharmacology needs assessment

On Wed Dec 9, grover wrote
--------------------------
>About two years ago, I wanted to start a journal club in molecular pharmacology at McMaster University. I approached a few grad students and I was told that it would be a non-starter since they would view it as another imposition. Then I threw around the idea of doing it on a web site and that seemed to be more palatable.
> We started with an Electronic Journal Club in Molecular Pharmacology with the first paper being presented on Feb. 1, 1997. To set it up, I took the help of an undergraduate student and Dr. Szechtman. Now my 13 year old is doing the postings. I am spending no more than two hours a month on the whole thing.

>I am asking myself if this site is serving any real purpose. I am not sure how to assess. Please, take a look at it including the archives and give me any means which can be useful in making an objective judgement.

>www-fhs.mcmaster.ca/mcpharm/

>Cheers
>akg

Dear Dr. Grover

All site web is serving any real purpose. The virtual forums is a real purpose for the communication.

The UNINET network counts already with a space, devoted to the intensivist; #MINTENSIVA (Topics is Medicina Intensiva y Emergencias) in cic.ugr.es/~intensiv, it is the channel of IRC offeree by the UniNet’servers. Here, the medical specialists of different intensivecare units of the world, are gathered and, given the interdisciplinary characteristic of the specialty, share experiences with other related specialties (anesthesists, emergencies, neurologists, neurosurgeons, general surgeons, trauma care, cardiologists, etc.). This channel, it is dedicated to the discussion of all the related with the patient in critical care units, although can include other topics on internal medicine, pediatrics, surgery,
neurology, and emergency medicine. Every Sunday of 22:00 at 00:00 (European hour) we meet to discuss a topic especially that it is resolved previously to inclination of the MINTENSIVA LISTSERV (MINTENSIVA@LISTSERV.REDIRIS.ES).

Relationships of friendship and cooperation settle down, interesting from the professional and the human point of view that then also give foot to the celebration of activities congresuales virtual. In the next future, it is in project the Third Meeting of the Intensive Care Society of Asturian-Galician and a group of Portuguese intensivist (North), in Oviedo, Spain (June 28-29, 1.999), with pursuit in real time by IRC of the round tables and of the communications (The topic will be, The Intensive Care Medicine in the third millennium).

As complement, the web page for the intensivist is Critical Web (www.medcrit.com). We started (April 1.997)with a electronic journal in spanish and english language for the critical care resources, with 87 members of different countries of the world, (www.medcrit.com/critical/members.htm) maintaining a discussion forums in Critical Web Club (www.medcrit.com/cwc/cwchome.htm).
Near a thousand connections of different site related for intensive cares, 39 resources of own production, from the docencia to the humor inside the specialty. Critical Web collaborates with UNinet, to connect with the members and to develop the different topics. Until the moment, we have had about 13000 visitors. Some 300 letters of comments are generated around the intensive cares a month.
I believe that to foment the virtual discussions, it is enriching for any page web in biomedicine.

Regards

Thu Dec 10