Internet Cool Tools for Physicians

Christine Neilson
2014 Journal of the Canadian Health Libraries Association  
Springer-Verlag, 2009. 154 pages (soft cover). ISBN-10: 978-3-540-76381-9, ISBN-13: 978-3540763819. CAN$35.95. The Internet is brimming with information and the tools to find and manage that information. But where can busy physicians turn to learn about the tools that would be most useful to them? Authored by two health information professionals and a physician, Internet Cool Tools for Physicians offers readers some insight into both well-known Internet tools like Google and Wikipedia, and a
more » ... ge number of potentially less familiar tools. At 154 pages, Internet Cool Tools for Physicians is intended to be a starting point for physicians to discover and learn about the Internet tools at their disposal. The authors discuss, at varying levels of depth, Internet searching; PubMed and various third party PubMed tools; current awareness tools; podcasting; blogs; wikis; "collaboration tools", such as free online word processing and spreadsheet software; social bookmarking; and social networking. The authors place a great deal of emphasis on Google and its many products (the Google Search engine, Google Health, Google Scholar, Google Reader, iGoogle, and Google Docs), but they also provide information on other tools that perform the same functions. The authors include tools, such as people search engines, that are useful in an international context and clearly indicate when a tool is only useful for a specific geographic area. The authors go beyond simply providing how-to instructions by giving recommendations, mentioning the pros and cons of particular tools, and providing points for the reader to consider before deciding whether to try a new tool. At times the how-to instructions are somewhat sparse, and the ever-changing nature of the Internet may result in differences between what the reader sees in the book and what they see online. This makes a willingness on the reader's part to jump in and experiment with the tools, rather than rely solely on the book for guidance, essential. Certain sections, such as the discussion on PubMed searching and a brief section on critical appraisal of wikis, have a certain library instruction flavour to them, which is unsurprising given there are two librarians on the author team. The presence of a physician on the author team provides a health care practitioner's experience and perspective, and knowing that these tools come recommended by one of their own may boost the credibility of the book among physicians. The examples used throughout the book focus primarily on the use of Internet tools for professional practice, but some instruction on how to search for everyday information such as weather, flight information, and movies is also included, which would likely appeal to physicians as well. Internet Cool Tools for Physicians is organized largely by devoting chapters to particular types of tools, although there are some chapters that are based on performing a task. Each chapter contains a short list of core messages at the beginning to give the reader an idea of what the chapter is about.
doi:10.5596/c09-035 fatcat:c4ygvrj3nnf7pi7tohoabe435m