ttmed Urology – Timely Topics in Medicine

This is a wonderful resource and entirely free.  The site has a wealth of information and I am sure you could spend hours searching a reading. Urology is a huge topic and (in my opinion) more than 75% of urology topics are of little to no interest to Pelvic PTs. Focus is mainly on cancer, surgery, and drugs and although we should know some about these topics, in-depth knowledge is not necessary for good clinical practice.   My hope is to do some of the searching for you and provide direction to interesting information.  Most of the information on this site is meant to be viewed on the site – most are not able to be downloaded or saved to your computer.  However, articles can be printed and some podcasts are downloadable. 

Getting started

First step is to register.  Go to the web site above, make sure you are on the USA site.  In the top bar is a button “register now, free access”.  Fill in the registration information.  Under “specialty area” you can pick “physiotherapist”.  The drop menu for “specialty” does not seem to have anything specific to what we do.  I picked “other”.  I do not see that this limits your access. After completing the form just click “next” and you are registered. 

Second, I would suggest you personalize your home page.  This seems to focus the news and highlights section.  To personalize your home page click on the left under “conditions” the topics you want to read about.  I clicked “erectile and sexual dysfunction, incontinence and OAB, and therapeutic procedures”.  After you have checked the boxes you want, click the button “personalize my home page”.  Then click “confirm” and “data has been successfully saved”.  You can add topics at any time.

Two sections are of immediate interest on the home page

Scroll down the home page to “News”.  This has brief reviews of recent journal articles and meeting presentations.  The full reference is listed but no links are provided.  This is sort of like the “Headline News” channel for UI (or whatever you picked).  I like to stay on top of the research but do not always have the time to search or read the entire article.  Unfortunately if you click “more news” you are transferred to a section that does not filter for your chosen topics and you must sift through many pages of archives that are of little applicability to Pelvic PT practice.  I think the key is to check the home page often so you can see them as they hit the home page list.

 “Webcasts” at the bottom of the home page contains links to webcasts of large and small professional meetings.  Here again you will be amazed at the amount of information.  The site provides links to the conference web page (which should then be book marked for further review).  I will be sending specific information for the International Continence Society meeting and possibly the American Urology Meeting.  ICS webcasts only remain for one year so need to be viewed and notes taken before September.

On the left margin

There is a list of many sections of the web site.  I will give a brief description here and give you my opinion as to the best places to spend your time.

• AUA section meeting – these are web casts of short, local meetings.  Maybe a few pearls but not the best use of time
• Webcasts – Listing of all web casts, best to know which meetings to search and which webcasts to listen to
• Articles – These appear to be general information specifically written for the web site (not published in a journal).  References vary in quality and number.  The articles can be printed in full or a link can be emailed. “Related topics” section on the right does not work well, don’t waste your time. 
• Congress reports – These are summaries of the meetings, listing topics and abstracts of interest.  They will be of help if you have the abstract book, but otherwise not helpful.
• Clinical scenarios – Interesting section with a very brief case summary and questions about management. No research or references are given and finding the correct answer can be tedious, but they are somewhat interesting.
• Expert interviews – This is the full list of what appears on your home page under “highlights”.  They are short, audio only interviews which have limited usability.
• Full text journal e-prints – These are published research papers and can be very helpful.  It appears by the button “free download in pdf” that you might be able to save the file electronically but that is not the case.  After being directed through several programs you are able to print the full text, but not able to save it to your computer.  Still, this is a very helpful section.
• On line courses – only one right now – urodynamics.  I will have a look and see if it would be helpful for the Pelvic PT, stay tuned.
• Quick vote – is an on site survey, mostly about drugs and surgery.  Mildly interesting
• Ask the expert – 3 topics listed, can ask a question if it fall into one of the topics.
• Uroblog – again minimal topics and minimal discussions
• Event calendar – very helpful to see what is coming to your area or when a large meeting is occurring.
• CE credits – this takes you back to the list of webcasts
• News – The full list of brief article updates.  Best to stick with your list on the home page.
• Surgical video library – a few, somewhat old videos in short segments.  Maybe helpful if you have never seen surgery.  There are some better videos on the market
• Teaching slides – I don’t understand this section, someone please explain.  The slides are there for you to read but you are not able to download or save them.  So I think you might be able to learn from them but I can not see how you could using them to teach (except logging onto this web site and showing them from the site).
• Multimedia animations – Another section I need someone to explain.  This looks like a PDF to me – an interesting on one prostate CA but no animation I can see
• Links – loads here, journals, professional and patient groups, guidelines, books
• RSS – I do not understand this technology, might be helpful if you do
• Podcasts – can be downloaded.  Mostly the interviews, not very helpful.
• Journal on web – About drugs
• Other Specialties – other countries

I am sure everyone can find some educational value in all parts of the web site.  Here are my thoughts on the site usage.

If you have an extra hour(s) and a glass(es) of wine – search and explore

Clinical scenarios, Expert interviews, Quick vote, Ask the expert, Uroblog, Links, Podcasts, Multimedia animations, Teaching slides, Surgical video library

If you are looking for specific information (most sections have limited topics)

Articles, Clinical scenarios, Expert interviews, Ask the expert, Multimedia animations (prostate CA), On line courses (urodynamics), Full text journal e-prints

Best use of time – I will be sending specific links to alert you to “must see” and “good information” and “interesting” topics. 

New from your personalized home page (brief summary of published research)

Articles (non research, non published info)

Full text journal e-prints (full text published papers)

Webcasts (audio and slides from conferences, like you are sitting in the audience) 

Events calendar (check now to see what is coming to your area next year)

Overall I think the best usage of this site is to stay abreast of new research through full text articles and news sections.  I would also use this site to get to webcasts of recent ICS and AUA meeting if you are unable to attend.  Technology is growing everyday.  I hope this information is helpful.  Please give feedback on usability and any suggestions to make it better.

http://www.ttmed.com/urology/us/