New media and critical care ultrasound.

Abstract

The paper discusses the issue of spreading medical knowledge, connected particularly with ultrasonography, by the social media. Such a way of sharing knowledge and experience results from the needs of recipients – physicians who daily have limited free time. The paper presents the phenomenon of the free open access medical education (FOAM) along with its genesis, an open and global nature as well as the main communication channels. It is emphasized that education via the social media is becoming an element of the mainstream medical didactics. The aforementioned phenomenon is depicted in greater detail in the context of emergency ultrasonography. US imaging is one of the more popular issues in the FOAM community. The paper focuses on the Ultrasound Podcast and the initiative associated with it. Our native (Polish) project, CriticalUSG, is also presented together with its numerous editions. Apart from these two projects, other initiatives, which are equally important not only due to ultrasonography, are also briefly mentioned. The aim of the paper is to interest the reader with the FOAM phenomenon as an open access, free and global medical discussion.