Dr Harry’s netlines

The well known web site YouTube has amassed a reputation for containing a huge repository of video footage covering virtually every subject imaginable (and more). So it may come as no surprise that there are serious and educational videos to be found here. One video comes from the UK and covers cardiovascular examination.

The feature is short and lasts just under seven minutes and is clear and easy to follow. There are other associated examination videos and this can be a useful and practical revision aid.

A good example of an organisational website is the UK-based Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities’ site. It is easy to use, information packed, and simple to navigate, with clearly defined subsections such as publications and news. You can subscribe to a newsletter as well as access to a number of publications. The news archive is regularly updated, a site search is offered, and there is also an excellent statistics section.

Better testing

It is not always easy to interpret laboratory diagnostic tests, and it is always nice to be able to refer to a clear, self explanatory text. It may well be that www.bettertesting.org.uk offers a potential solution. This British based site is ideal for primary care users, although I am sure a wider audience may be more interested. Clicking on the topics section, gives you a list of what is available and they are common topics, discussing familiar problems and after reading the topics, hopefully you will find straightforward advice. This is a text based resource, nothing flashy, but contains good, and sensible, information.

From Canada, www.palliative.info houses a very useful collection of presentational teaching materials about palliative care. They can be used for self teaching or group teaching and covers a wide area within palliative care. Most of the file formats are PowerPoints, (though there are some PDFs) and can be viewed online or saved for offline use.

All the presentations are clearly catalogued and a few clicks later, the presentation can be viewed without much effort. Apart from the file format, the authors and titles are clearly listed, making this an effective educational resource.

Harry Brown, general practitioner Leeds, UK.

You can comment on these websites on this blog and suggest others to be included in future Netlines. Alternatively, email Dr Harry Brown at DrHarry@DrHarry.net