MedSkills: a learning environment for evidence-based medical skills

EBP (evidence-based practice) is becoming the standard paradigm in modern healthcare. Therefore different healthcare providers have the need for easily accessible evidence-based information. The Internet creates new opportunities to fill the gaps in education that are experienced by healthcare workers. Contributing to solutions and filling in the needs in the above-mentioned scope, the University of Brussels initiated a European project called MedSkills in 2004.

MedSkills' main goal was to create a copyright-free reference work containing valuable evidence-based information on medical skills for all levels of healthcare professionals (paramedics, nurses and physicians, teachers of medical skills and students).

We succeeded in designing and creating a framework to suit the requirements of different users, in 'cellular', 'organ', 'body' and 'best treatment' content maps. A wiki tool was installed to allow the project to be built and in order to maintain itself.

This multi-professional and international initiative, unique in its kind aims at contributing to a gold standard for European healthcare, via the creation of a freely available, consistent and updatable evidence-based teaching environment.