Medpedia Coming Soon

Wikipedia for Medicine?

It's coming. Medpedia promises to be the most comprehensive and collaborative medical resource in the world -- a freely available, authoritative online resource for health and medicine. But instead of allowing just anyone to edit its pages, Medpedia requires that anyone who edits or contributes content has an M.D. or a Ph.D. in the biomedical sciences. There is currently a call for participation for organizations to contribute content and for medical professionals to become members. Get involved at http://www.medpedia.com/index.php/Main_Page.

The site is expected to launch in later 2008. For now, there are a few sample pages online at http://www.medpedia.com/index.php/Special:Preview.

Can it live up to its stated goal -- "to create an invaluable clearinghouse for all the best medical information that cuts across disciplines, socio-economic status and geography to provide valuable medical information to anyone, anywhere, at any time"?

Cool New Applications for the iPhone

Do you have a new iPhone? If so, check out this Wired.com list of new science applications for the iPhone. Especially of interest:

• Netter's Anatomy Flash Cards - Make your iPhone educational with this handy way to brush up on your anatomy ($39.95)
  
• ePocrates - The drug resource you already use, now formatted for the iPhone (free)
  
• Genetic Decoder - Input RNA codons and get back amino acid information (free)
  
• Molecules - Download and view 3-D molecules (free)
  

A full list of all applications for the iPhone can be found in the iTunes Store (note: this link opens the iTunes Store, so you must have iTunes on your computer for this link to work.)

New PDA Resources Added

The Library added new resources to the PDA Subject Guide. These new applications are designed for medical students, residents and physicians interested in emergency medicine. There are applications for risk stratifying patients with decision rules, scores and calculators and additional applications for the management of sepsis, stroke and heart attacks. All programs are free and available under the Pro Palm software listings.

We are also getting ready to add more information on smartphones like iPhones and Blackberries. Have a tip or application you'd like to recommend to your colleagues?
Let us know!

Making the Most of Google Maps...

Google Maps has completed their Street View maps of the Triangle area! You may have seen a Google car driving slowly through neighborhoods capturing this data awhile ago. Now you can search for an address and click on the street view option. Next time you know you'll be looking for a specific house or business, view a picture of it before you head out the door. If you are wondering what this means, click on this Google Map link to see the library in Street View mode.

Traveling to a conference? This tool can help you get a sense of where your hotel is, get some early sightseeing accomplished, or find out exactly where a restaurant is located. You can "walk" up or down the street, turn 360°, or zoom in to get a better view. Over 25 cities have been completed, check out this map to see which US cities have been done.

For more on how to use Google Map Street View, watch this short video.

Happy Sightseeing!

Facebook and MySpace...We're Out There!

If you...

• Love our helpful reference librarians available in person, via telephone, email or IM (buddy name: dumclref)
• Access a database to help you answer a clinical question, assist in your research, or finish an assignment
• Read an electronic book or journal at home

Then you might just be a Duke University Medical Center Library fan!

Click on the link and become our next Facebook fan today!

http://duke.facebook.com/profile.php?id=6326259677

You can see upcoming classes, read our blog, and connect to others through the Library.

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We're also on MySpace! Become a friend today!
Visit us at: http://www.myspace.com/dumcl

CIT Announces New Grants for Faculty and Instructors

Looking to incorporate new technologies into your teaching? There's still time to apply for grant opportunities through CIT, the Center for Instructional Technology. The deadline for these grants is January 31, 2008.

1. Strategic Initiative Grants support instructional innovations with technology, tied to Duke's strategic plan "Making a Difference." In particular, Chapter 4 of the plan "Academic Goals and Strategies to Build Distinction" focuses on academic and instructionally-related goals which CIT would like to support, such as interdisciplinarity, student engagement in real-world issues, providing engaging and challenging learning experiences for students, transforming the arts, supporting our graduate students, and innovation in creation and delivery of scholarly resources. Information about the grant and examples of potential projects are linked below.
Due date: January 31, 2008.

2. Blackboard Great Ideas Mini-grant seeks submissions of Bb uses which work well from all disciplines, in order to create examples and models for other Duke faculty. If you use one or more Blackboard tools in a way which works for you and your course, your colleagues would like to know!
Due date: January 31, 2008.

In addition, CIT continues to offer Jump Start Mini-grants and Faculty Fellowships, as well as non-funding support such as consulting, help with materials development and training. Visit their Website for more information at http://cit.duke.edu/help/grants