Welcome to the Web Initiative for Surgical Education of Medical Doctors (WISE-MD). This educational program has been designed to enhance the teaching of common surgical problems to medical students, residents, nurses and allied health workers. WISE-MD modules are artfully crafted by surgical experts working with technicians using state-of the art technologies including animation, computer graphics and video to illustrate the important principles related to the diagnosis and treatment of surgical illnesses.

WISE-MD was initially created to address gaps in medical student surgical education resulting from shortened hospital stays and increased use of outpatient facilities for pre and post surgical care. The modules were designed to follow the typical course of a patient from the initial presentation to the physical examination, laboratory testing and radiological imaging, preoperative preparation, surgery, and recovery. The modules include patient/physician interactions to stress the importance of professionalism and communication.

WISE-MD has been developed through a joint effort of New York University Medical Center, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the Association of Surgical Education (ASE). Throughout the development phase, the creation, production and distribution of WISE-MD has been supported by NYU and the ACS as well as a number of generous contributors, some of whom are listed on our patron acknowledgement page. An Editorial Board of 12 nationally recognized surgical educators from the ASE determine the content of the modules and select editors for specific topics.

As of July 2009, over 35 medical schools in the U.S., Canada and abroad have used WISE-MD modules to enhance their surgical clerkship curricula. The rich multimedia presentations that are available through the web have made it possible to reduce the number of lectures at many institutions. Students, being able to view the modules on demand, have found WISE-MD has helped them to be better prepared for participating in surgical procedures during their clerkship. Yet another advantage of the WISE-MD program has been the ability of clerkship directors to address an LCME issue; i.e. providing a uniform curriculum to students regardless of their hospital assignment or clinical experience.

The enthusiastic response to WISE-MD has created a demand for more modules and greater accessibility. Although the program was initially supported by philanthropy, the Directors felt this would be inadequate to meet the needs of the future. To continue to increase the content, to provide high speed on-line service to increasing numbers of users, and to add new features including self-assessment questions, a subscription program was instituted in July, 2009, in conjunction with iInTIME (the Institute for Innovative Technology in Medical Education). The Directors have determined that modest financial support by the users will not only enable WISE-MD to be sustained, but will also enable it to fulfill its mission of providing a comprehensive surgical curriculum for medical students in the U.S. and abroad. Be assured, WISE-MD remains a non-profit service with the single goal of enhancing surgical education. WISE-MD is now available through iInTIME's MedU suite of computer-assisted instructional offerings in medical education, alongside offerings in pediatrics (CLIPP), internal medicine (SIMPLE), and family medicine (fmCASES). Please visit http://www.med-u.org/subscriptions for information regarding institutional and individual rates.

iInTIME is a 501(c)(3) entity founded by the Dartmouth pediatricians who developed CLIPP, a web-based learning system for medical students on pediatric clerkships. Their program, initially funded through grants, encountered similar issues as WISE-MD, i.e. greater demand with dwindling support. After successful transition to a subscription model, CLIPP is now used in 120 medical schools and hospitals in the U.S. It was their experience with a subscription model that led the WISE-MD Directors to seek their advice and subsequent collaboration. For more information about iInTIME, please visit http://i-intime.org/.

In this arrangement, iInTIME will assist in the business and marketing aspects of WISE-MD delivery. The creative part will remain the task of the WISE-MD Editorial Board, led by Editors Mary Ann Hopkins and Tom Lynch. The revenues will principally support the maintenance and distribution of existing modules, and any revenue beyond that will go towards the production of additional modules and features. Should the project ever reach profitability, proceeds will be shared equally with the co-sponsors, the Association for Surgical Education, the ACS and NYU.

It is a difficult time to impose new costs for student education. On the other hand, we believe WISE-MD produces a savings in terms of teaching time of our surgical faculties while at the same time enhancing the quality of surgical education. WISE-MD is an excellent naming opportunity for grateful patients. In addition to providing the subscription fee, if a donor wishes to contribute to the further development of the project, we would be pleased to include them on our patrons list, visible from the WISE-MD Patrons link to the left of this screen.

It is our hope that our current users will continue to support WISE-MD, not only financially but also with suggestions on how to improve the content and ideas on how to make it an ever better teaching modality.