It’s findit that gets it
Acknowledging some bias about OBG Management as its Editor in Chief, I do know that the editorial staff, the publication’s Board of Editors, and a team of consulting medical ontologists have worked hard—continue to work hard—to develop a fully searchable Web site that contains relevant material to help experienced clinicians at the point of care as they face difficult clinical demands. The obgfindit search engine, with its triple-pronged search “scope” (see the “Editor’s note” at the end of the Editorial for an explanation) is a state-of-the-art system for quickly identifying relevant information. And part of that system is the quick-response ability of the editorial team to modify—add to, or delete from—entries in the collective ObGyn literature, far beyond just the OBG Management archive.
Here is what I found: At OBG Management, an obgfindit search that is narrowed to the publication’s archive (to 2002) identified more than five articles written by internationally recognized experts directly pertaining to performing vacuum delivery. Each article is available in a pdf version for viewing, downloading, and printing. The articles contain high-quality figures that identify key anatomic landmarks and steps in operative delivery. Similarly, obgfindit identified two recent articles directly pertaining to the repair of severe perineal laceration, with the same pdf options. Furthermore, guidance on repairing severe perineal injury was provided by internationally recognized experts, including Drs. Abdul Sultan, Ranee Thakar, and Ruwan Fernando.
A 2-in-the-morning-alone-in-the-hospital virtual colleague
With a patient’s problem on your hands, in late-night circumstances, obgfindit can be an especially good option for finding evidence and expert opinion to guide your clinical actions. Of course, the same benefit is true at your desk, apart from urgent circumstances, when you need resources to, say, interpret findings, create a management plan, or respond to a patient’s question.
EDITOR’S NOTE: obgfindit is a no-fee, no-registration service of OBG Management available to all women’s health-care practitioners. The obgfindit search tool can be found at its own url, www.obgfindit.com, or atop the home page of obgmanagement.com. Users can set the limits of their search three ways: the OBG Management archive; a pool of more than 100 other selected ObGyn and women’s health Web sites; and the full PubMed literature database of the National Library of Medicine.