Family medicine Education and Research Network
(FERN)
What is it?
FERN is an e-mail discussion group that was
started by the Thames Valley Family Practice Research Unit in February
1994. Its purpose is to
foster a sense of community, enhance communication, and further the
dissemination of research findings among family physicians. Currently there are
approximately 200 area family physicians on board.
What’s discussed?
FERN
provides a forum for family physicians to participate in lively discussions
regarding clinical issues, clinical case discussions, family medicine
research, community service opportunities, and political issues. Really,
its anything of interest to area family physicians- politics, the OMA, and the
government have been hot topics but it has also been used by physicians seeking
collegial help with:
A Troubling Case: from an e-mail after describing a
young man in his 20's the question to FERN was: “Are there any
psychiatrists/neurologists in London with an interest in adult ADD with tic
disorders”
The “Ethics And How” Of Prevention In
Long Term Care: from an e-mail, “Difficult
questions. I look after a number of group
homes and homebound patients. My usual approach is a routine annual review ...I
have some difficulty justifying sedating someone for routine
examinations...Individual assessment seems to be the key here.”
Sharing Of Insights Gained Handling A
Difficult Patient Situation: from an e-mail “This woman is
improving! Pain has decreased from
10/10 to 4/10 in last 48 hrs with addition of small amount of Haloperidol
BID(with Cogentin)...She is talking in terms of ‘when I go home’ instead of ‘if
I go home’, and is beginning to sound hopeful.
There's still a long way to go, but things are looking up. Many thanks to all who responded to my first
post.”
Advantages to Joining FERN
Convenience And Ability To Learn In Off Hours: “..it was
something you could do at your own pace in the middle of the night” “There is a tremendous convenience at being
able to choose when I can do it (CME)”
Interaction With Family Physician Colleagues:
“it’s been very helpful and I get suggestions
from other Family doctors who really understand what it is, the problem seems
to be”
Familiarity With New Technologies:
as
health care moves more to electronic records family physicians will need to
know how to get the most out of the technology for their patients and
practices: “I wasn’t very comfortable with my computer...when I joined in I
found this was really interesting... they get incredible information”
Access To The University Library System: including Medline and many
other searchable databases
Eligibility
All
family physicians in southwestern Ontario, Canada (including the counties of:
Essex, Kent, Lambton, Huron, Oxford, Middlesex, Elgin, Perth, Bruce and Grey) - including those who are
currently in active practice and retired physicians, community-based and
academic physicians, and those completing residencies - can become members of
FERN. At present, there are 200 members
in FERN. To become a member of FERN and to participate on FERN, you need an
E-mail address and INTERNET access.
OK! I’m
convinced...What do I need to do?
You
need a computer and a modem- but a 486 will do and anything from a 14,400 baud
modem up will work.
Call
Cathy Thorpe at the TVFPRU 519.858.5028 and they will help you get set up
with either a UWO “julian” account (currently free) if you are in the London
“free” dialing area or give you suggestions as to other service
providers in your area.
If
you already have an e-mail account, it’s even easier- just call Cathy or Sibi,
answer a few questions and get put on the e-mail list.
If you have trouble getting “hooked-up”, Sibi
at TVFPRU can offer some help and can trouble shoot problems.
Who to Contact
Questions??
Call Cathy at
TVFPRU (519.858.5028) ....you won’t regret it!
Moderator:
|
FERN Advisory Group:
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[Please
note: Although residents can become members of FERN, they are responsible for
arranging their own INTERNET accounts through The University of Western
Ontario]
