New Web Site Fosters Wikisthesiology

Is the anesthesiology community ready to join the wiki world? So hope the founders of a new “open source” Web site devoted to all matters anesthesia.

The site, OpenAnesthesia.org, launched officially in July, with main sections devoted to anesthesiology, critical care and graduate medical education. Faithful to the Wikipedia model, OpenAnesthesia.org allows visitors to submit, add to and amend the content that fills its pages.

In theory, readers will act as editors, taking on branches of their choosing, reviewing the entries of others to ensure accuracy and honesty, and otherwise policing the site. Articles will range from studies published in journals to more newsy items. The site also will carry a variety of multimedia offerings, such as podcasts and interviews with experts.

Most of the entries on the site so far were written by Robert Thiele, MD, a CA-2 at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Dr. Thiele laid the initial stones for Open-Anesthesia.org in 2006 while preparing to enter his anesthesiology residency at UVA.