Calling all who read or listen to emergency medicine/critical care (EM/CC) blogs or podcasts. In 2014, we helped to publish the master inventory of free open-access medical education (FOAMed) resources spanning the period of 2002-2013 [1]. In that publication, we demonstrated an exponential rise of both blogs and podcasts with 141 blogs and 42 podcasts (total 183 sites). In 2019, the Life in the Fast Lane (LITFL) team identified 251 active sites. But where are we at now?

Why create an EM/CC master list of sites?

Most of the time, we encounter new resources by word-of-mouth or through Google search engines. There are, however, so many more quality sites that are available for teaching and learning. We aim to find them all. Are the numbers like 50 or more like 500? So far, we have reviewed the 2019 LITFL list and identified 119 and 9 still-active blog and podcast sites, respectively. But we likely have missed some, especially those sites launched after 2019.

Why the rush on updating the master list now?

Since 2014, we have prided ourselves in running the Approved Instructional Resources (AIR) Series, which identifies quality blog posts and podcast episodes, specifically to help residency programs award asynchronous learning credit to their residents [2]. Posts and episodes are identified from the top 50 sites, based on our validated Social Media Index (SMI) score [3] and are selected from a modified version of the 2019 LITFL list. The SMI formula incorporates the Alexa rank, which unfortunately just retired on May 1, 2022. So we are working towards an updated SMI score, using Ahref’s Domain Rating as well as new platform followerships that includes not only Twitter and Facebook but also Pinterest, Reddit, YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Call to action: What sites did we miss?

We want to get as comprehensive a list as possible. If you don’t see a blog or podcast on these lists, fill out the Google form below! Thank you for your help.

Blogs

Podcasts

Submission Form

References

  1. Cadogan M, Thoma B, Chan TM, Lin M. Free Open Access Meducation (FOAM): the rise of emergency medicine and critical care blogs and podcasts (2002-2013). Emerg Med J. 2014;31(e1):e76-e77. doi:10.1136/emermed-2013-203502. PMID 24554447
  2. Lin M, Joshi N, Grock A, et al. Approved Instructional Resources Series: A National Initiative to Identify Quality Emergency Medicine Blog and Podcast Content for Resident Education. J Grad Med Educ. 2016;8(2):219-225. doi:10.4300/JGME-D-15-00388.1. PMID 27168891
  3. Thoma B, Sanders JL, Lin M, Paterson QS, Steeg J, Chan TM. The social media index: measuring the impact of emergency medicine and critical care websites. West J Emerg Med. 2015;16(2):242-249. doi:10.5811/westjem.2015.1.24860. PMID 25834664
Mina Phipps

Mina Phipps

ALiEM Social Media Index Data Archivist;
Undergraduate student
Stanford University
Michelle Lin, MD

Michelle Lin, MD

ALiEM Founder and CEO
Professor and Digital Innovation Lab Director
Department of Emergency Medicine
University of California, San Francisco
Michelle Lin, MD

@M_Lin

Professor of Emerg Med at UCSF-Zuckerberg SF General. ALiEM Founder @aliemteam #PostitPearls at https://t.co/50EapJORCa Bio: https://t.co/7v7cgJqNEn
Michelle Lin, MD