The evolution of education
From the President
Dr. Olbricht served as Academy president from March 2018 to March 2019.
By Suzanne Olbricht, MD, November 1, 2018
Notecards, notepads, pens, card catalogs, and textbooks. These are the objects I used in order to study in medical school and residency as I sat in classrooms and library carrels. No longer! Notepad and note card function is accomplished with iPads. The pen is now the thumb and forefinger. The card catalog is replaced with Google. Textbooks are online and often edited in real time and classrooms can be anywhere, any time. New technology has changed how and where we learn. It has also enabled us to share ideas and information and to test our knowledge and skills with a whole world of colleagues almost instantaneously.
Fortunately, your Academy has its finger on the pulse of the latest trends in education. The Academy’s Online Learning Center (OLC) houses a host of educational activities. Many of you are familiar with the Question of the Week (QOTW) — your weekly opportunity to quickly test your skills and earn both CME and Self-Assessment credits from the comfort of your smartphone. Similarly, the OLC offers a monthly Case Challenge for CME credit. Check out the sidebar to find out how you can receive QOTW and the Case Challenge in your inbox every Thursday.
Looking to interact with your peers? Join the Academy’s JAAD Journal Club on Facebook — an online forum for dermatologists to discuss the latest research published in JAAD. Visit www.facebook.com/groups/JAADJournalClub and join the discussion today.
My personal favorite way to keep up with new literature is the JAAD Twitter feed. JAAD pushes out a one-sentence description of an article and a link to the full reference, allowing me to know both the general scope of what is being published as well as a quick way to read the entire article. I can keep it in my “liked” file to reread or reference at a future date.
For our resident members, we also offer several board study tools, such as Race for the Case — an online clinical quiz published quarterly in Dermatology World Directions in Residency. Have some spare time waiting for the train or your morning coffee to brew? Check out Boards Fodder — comprehensive study charts now available online as downloadable PDFs — and Board Prep Plus a new online study tool for dermatology residents.
Of course, we haven’t forgotten about the importance of hands-on, in-person learning. The Academy is implementing new hands-on courses throughout the year, such as this month’s Hands-On Cosmetics course in Illinois. Additionally, each year the AAD Annual and Summer Meetings offer several opportunities for physicians to get out of their chairs and participate in clinical demonstrations. Many new innovations are used to maximize onsite learning experiences. These are not your grandmother’s AAD meetings! Registration for the 2019 AAD Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. opens this month. Register at staging.aad.org/meetings/annual-meeting.
This is just a taste of the educational resources that you have at your fingertips through the Academy. Check out staging.aad.org/education to see more. I encourage all of you to take advantage of the numerous educational opportunities that the Academy has to offer. As physicians, it’s in our nature to seek out the latest medical information — we are life-long learners and want to provide up-to-date care to our patients. Thank you to our professional AAD Education staff for keeping us covered!
