We often talk about the initiatives of our students at the start of their studies, but those of our interns are just as exciting! Such is the case with the projects recently undertaken by our general medicine interns. As part of their thesis work, 6 interns have developed original websites dedicated to their peers and practicing healthcare professionals. To find out more about these projects, we spoke to Dr Marie-Catherine REBOUL, Associate Professor at the University Department of General Medicine (DUMG) and thesis supervisor for these interns.
Projects born out of the work of doctoral theses in general practice
After 6 years of study, our medical students become interns. They then choose a specialty according to their exam results and their affinities. In Montpellier, General Medicine is a major field, with almost 150 new interns every year, all of whom join our University Department of General Medicine.
To receive the title of Doctor of Medicine, interns must, among other things, submit a thesis, at the end of almost 9 years' study. A few years ago, as part of this thesis, Dr Marie-Catherine REBOUL initiated this original project with the interns she supervises, to create a bouquet of websites for healthcare professionals.
Websites created on the principle of the scientific approach
"It's a project I wanted to anchor in a scientific approach," she explains. "The interns who volunteer for these projects are required to carry out a bibliographical study prior to the creation of the site. The data is collected, sorted, classified and finally referenced before being processed in the form of a research question validated by the thesis supervisor.
The search question sets the tone for the site: it defines its overall theme and thus its main objective. "This can cover various fields, such as diagnosis/screening assistance, sharing of best practices, sharing of therapeutic advice, sharing of practical information sheets, prescription assistance", explains Dr. Reboul.
Six websites have been launched since 2020!
Dermatokid.com, created by Estelle Renart: a website to help diagnose dermatological pathologies in children aged 0 to 6.
Regularly prone to skin rashes, children can present some diagnostic difficulties for general practitioners. The Dermatokid website offers a diagnostic approach based on numerous illustrations of skin symptoms observed in children.
- URL: https: //dermatokid.com/
- Target: interns, general practitioners
- Objective: Diagnostic assistance
- The plusses: the many illustrations, the practical summary sheets and the emergency section.
- Quality guarantee: Site built to Hodge Sandvik standards, listed on the KitMédical website, which lists quality websites. Regular updates are planned.
- Poster: download
Depistoeil.com, created by Tibère de Villiers: an ophthalmology and primary care screening website
General practitioners are rarely confronted with the task of screening for ophthalmological pathologies. Lack of equipment or training can make this difficult. By proposing an interrogation protocol and practical tools for age-appropriate screening of frequent pathologies in the office, the site provides real support for practitioners.
- URL: https: //www.depistoeil.com/
- Target: General practitioners
- Objective: Screening assistance
- Benefits: screening assistance based on the patient's age or pathology; tools for use in the practice
- Quality guarantee: The site has been tested by 27 general practitioners and 2 ophthalmologists. It has been developed according to the quality criteria of the Netscoring and Hodge Sandvik grids.
- Poster: download
Kineclic.fr, created by Thomas Bonnin: a tool for understanding and prescribing physiotherapy treatments
GPs have little contact with physiotherapists. They are poorly trained in physiotherapy practices. The Kineclic website enables them to improve their understanding of physiotherapy care, and therefore to improve their prescribing practices.
- URL: https: //www.kineclic.fr/
- Target: GPs and all healthcare professionals prescribing physiotherapy care
- Objective: Help in understanding and prescribing
- Plus: reminder of the basics of physiotherapy, reminder of clinical examinations (videos)
- Quality guarantee: The site has been tested by general practitioners and validated by experienced physiotherapists. Regular updates are planned.
- Poster: download
Gestrapratique.fr, created by Manon Hériat: a website to help pregnant women deal with the most frequently asked questions in general practice.
Pregnant women may need to carry out part of their pregnancy follow-up with their GP. The Gestapratique website can help doctors answer their questions.
- URL: https: //gestapratique.fr/
- Target: Interns, general practitioners, midwives
- Objective: To answer the most frequently asked questions in the daily life of the pregnant patient.
- The plus: advice on daily life, downloadable patient fact sheets
- Quality guarantee: The site has been tested by 30 GPs, 83% of whom found it practical. Regular updates are planned.
- Poster: download
Declic-ecrans.com, created by Gauthier Duret: a database of information sheets on preventing screen misuse among young children.
A real social issue, exposure to screens among the youngest children raises questions among young parents. This site brings together all the best practices on the subject in the form of summary sheets, easily accessible to doctors and patients alike.
- URL: https: //www.declic-ecrans.com/
- Target group: Interns, General Practitioners, Midwives, Parents
- Objective: Answer questions frequently asked by young parents
- Benefits: Printable data sheets
- Quality guarantee: fact sheets based on 2 literature reviews, 650 parent testers, 450 healthcare professionals testers. The site is referenced by the KitMédical website, which lists quality websites. Regular updates are planned.
- Poster: download
Kidprotect.fr, created by Maud Bettenfeld: a website to help prevent, identify and deal with child abuse and child endangerment.
The site aims to improve the knowledge of doctors and other professionals in the early childhood sector about the risk factors, signs and symptoms, and management of child abuse. Better informed, professionals are better able to detect and prevent child abuse.
- URL: https: //kidprotect.fr/
- Target: General practitioners, Early childhood professionals
- Objective:Sharing of best practices on attitudes to adopt in consultation in the event of suspected abuse, practical information on how to initiate a procedure (information of concern, reporting).
- The plusses: advice on how to behave during a consultation, easy navigation by question, resources classified by region.
- Quality guarantee: The site is referenced by the KitMédical website, which lists quality websites.
- Poster: to be published at a scientific conference in 2023.
An initiative spotted by Le Quotidien du Médecin!
While these sites have been a resounding success since their inception (some boast over 60,000 visits a year at the time of writing), the scientific rigor with which they have been designed has attracted a great deal of media attention. For example, the magazine Le Quotidien du Médecin has highlighted the Dermatokid and Declics-Ecrans sites!
New projects in the pipeline
Following the success of these first 6 projects, Dr Marie-Catherine Reboul is keen to repeat the experience with new interns, on new themes: "I'm thinking of the themes of depression/mental health and sleep disorders". If you're interested in these projects, please contact Dr. Reboul!
