How the Internet Is Altering Medical Journalism and Education: A Survey and Discussion

Abstract

Because of a burgeoning Internet and increasing number of online electronic Journals, the way in which psychiatric practitioners are educated is changing. To better characterize these changes, the author conducted a survey of sources for obtaining medical information from the present and from 5 years ago among 55 academic psychiatrists and psychiatric residents. Comparisons show an average 14.0% ± 19.0% decrease in use of print media and a 16.2% ± 15.7% increase in the use of the Internet as a source of psychiatric information (P = 0.001). No significant change was found in use of live or videotaped lectures, classes, and conferences. The author discusses how these changes affect continuing psychiatric education, various ramifications of websites’ pre-publication posting, and controversies of posting “pseudoscientific,” non-reviewed papers, outlining advantages and disadvantages of print and electronic publishing.