EyeWorld Asia-Pacific December 2014 Issue

54 EWAP NEWS & OPINION December 2014 a role for textbooks as they are a source of comprehensive and concise knowledge compiled from several sources, including recent publications. Often, in the open access literature, the young resident or medical student may get lost trying to filter the relevant information. It is here that the textbooks will provide up-to-date and comprehensive information on the subject.” Our very concept of “textbook” has been rendered malleable by new media. “The standard for medical students learning is still reading textbooks,” said Dr. Amano. “But these days, textbooks themselves have changed. They are often sold with DVDs with various figures and videos and sometimes interactive discussions with authors are available. Moreover, low price e-textbooks are increasing. Thus, medical education is becoming more and more digital media- based.” “Many textbooks are now available in the digital format, making reading and learning convenient and readily available at odd times and at odd places,” said Dr. Lee. “Coupled with media viewing and animation, learning has certainly become more pleasant and complete. Information beyond the scope of a textbook can easily be obtained via the internet, digital libraries and journals. “Though the traditional foundation is still the norm in many institutions especially in the less developed regions, many are moving towards blended learning to maximize the benefits of this combined method,” he added. Information gap The New Media Age isn’t all utopian—one of the more troubling aspects of the current era is the disappearance of the middle class, creating the widest gap between the classes in human history, in one way manifesting in the global ophthalmological community as an information gap between more and less developed countries. “This will always remain a real challenge and there is no simple solution,” said Dr. Yeo. “Access to medical information should always be made readily available to all clinicians and not just in more affluent countries.” “Prevalence of digital media- based medical education is likely to depend on the availability of computers and free or low-cost internet,” said Dr. Amano. “Thus, infrastructure for internet may be necessary for less developed countries.” “Digital media is penetrating all countries, including those in the Asia-Pacific…yet, there are issues with internet connections and many regions still do not have continuous access,” said Dr. Vasavada. “In India, at least in the bigger cities, medical students are becoming more updated about advances in the West. The biggest hitch for less developed countries to keep pace with the latest is the access to internet as well as internet connectivity issues.” “With so much information readily available, less developed countries have no choice but to create the infrastructure to enable digital learning, lest the information gap will widen,” said Dr. Lee. Dr. Vasavada remains optimistic: “In not so distant times to come, I foresee global digital access.” IRL, in a nutshell On the suface, new media devalues physical presence, obviating the necessity of leaving your clinic or hospital: “As digital media-based resources increase, the importance of scientific meetings may decrease,” said Dr. Amano. However, in real life, scientific meetings remain valuable for ophthalmologists. “Getting a lot of information at one time is the strong part of scientific meeting,” Dr. Amano admitted. “Moreover, discussions with other doctors and researchers face-to-face in scientific meetings are indispensable time to enhance his/her knowledge and motivation and link among researchers.” Dr. Vasavada maintains “there is still a unique place for scientific meetings.” “Personal interaction, as well as discussion and participation from the attendees, is something that is not possible to obtain from any other medium than meetings,” he said. “Plus, these provide a forum for even beginners and residents to present their scientific papers, research and videos. I still believe that scientific meetings are very relevant even in today’s time. However, I do also feel that often there are far too many meetings happening in the same region in the same time period.” Dr. Yeo believes scientific meetings provide a critical function, a kind of dynamic “in real life” peer-review: “Scientific meetings allow discourse of information and to query the information found throughout the various media,” he said. “It allows like-minded individuals to share their knowledge and grow them further, for others it may inspire them to learn more and develop the field further.” Scientific meetings also provide a good overview of the field as practiced around the world. “If you don’t have time to read a myriad of journals, these meetings help to crystallize the mountain of information to just the pearls,” said Dr. Yeo. “With participation of the industry and the various allied sectors, information is more holistic,” added Dr. Lee. “An overview of the meeting and how your peers are practicing gives an indication of what the trend of the discipline will be. And this will change as new information from various sources emerges. A scientific meeting puts all this information together in a nutshell.” Meetings also provide an avenue for some ophthalmologists to become directly acquainted with new technologies and innovations. “Viewing and testing cutting edge instruments and equipment is a major attraction of a scientific meeting,” said Dr. Lee. The converse is also true: “The opportunity to discuss, to compare products and exchange information with the industry directly is something that all attendees look forward to. “Industry will also value feedback from the consumers to further refine, improve, or innovate new instruments to suit the demands of the attendees,” he added. Nonetheless, while the scientific meeting might remain relevant, it is not untouched by new media. “Scientific meetings to date have changed as more digital elements are added,” said Dr. Lee. “Digital posters and media viewing via terminals have replaced traditional methods.” Contrary to the idea that new media might obviate the need for scientific meetings, Dr. Lee suggested that new media might instead serve to broaden and extend the scientific meeting’s influence: “Convenience, easy availability and the ability to view these media after the meeting are the prime factors that initiate this change.” EWAP Editors’ note: The doctors have no financial interests related to the content of this article. Contact information Amano: amanoshiro1126@gmail.com Lee: +605-2540095; yc_lee@lec.com.my Vasavada: icirc@abhayvasavada.com Yeo: ian.yeo.y.s@snec.com.sg