Some days ago, the Union of European Medical Specialities (UEMS) ratified the procedure of electronic learning (e-learning) accreditation through the European Accreditation Council for Continuous Medical Education (EACCME) as of January 2009.  Our eaaci.net can be considered one of the pioneers in the field of European scientific websites, since it participated in the EACCME pilot project.  This included publication of online educational courses as webcasts, accompanied by self-assessment questions, in early 2007. Educational opportunities using “new media” may now be accredited for the delivery of CME. 

Personally, it was during my final years at Medical School that I finally came to grips with my lack of experience in using computers.  Since then, the world of computer and internet technology has become truly awe-inspiring. Moreover, my work over the last three years, first as JMA webmaster and now as EAACI Website Co-ordinating Editor, has allowed me to indulge my ever-growing passion for the communication of scientific knowledge.

All the current buzz about e-learning underlines how much our lives are influenced by the internet.  The phenomenon is cosmopolitan and affects us as biomedical scientists in myriad ways. It provides us with an immense volume of credible and readily accessible scientific information through online journals and libraries.  It gives us a platform to communicate with colleagues on websites for professional societies, through forums, and by email.  It also constitutes a convenient online market for finding commercial therapeutic and research products, and even leads to the development of new medical disorders – if we consider the increase in web addiction clinics in China, the U.S., and elsewhere. And now e-learning (the “e” for electronic also standing for exciting, energetic, enthusiastic, and excellent) represents an indispensable educational tool offering many advantages in comparison with conventional seminars, such as reduced environmental impact and more affordable fee levels.

The accreditation of online courses by official organisations such as the EACCME establishes their use not only as a valuable learning experience but also as a means of evaluating our scientific status and our continuing professional development. Little did I dream, in those student years when I was highly doubtful of the efficiency of working on computer, that technological developments in our new century would make the field of science communication so rich and so diverse.

Chrysanthi Skevaki
EAACI Website Coordinating Editor