About McMaster Textbook of Internal Medicine

Piotr Gajewski: Professor Crowther, you are the hematology section editor of McMaster Textbook of Internal Medicine. What could you tell us about the project?

Mark Crowther: This is a very interesting product trying to increase the educational value of what we would call a “textbook.” Essentially, this is going to be predominantly an online resource that people are going to be able to access, and the goal is ultimately to make it both evidence-based and also updated on a regular basis.
I think it will be a great resource for people who are actually seeing patients. The product as it currently exists is not meant to be a comprehensive and deeply in-depth review of the subjects, but rather something that clinicians can use, that is practical and would be available and able to be used in the evening or at night, for example, to help them guide the care of patients.

PG: So these are the key advantages that you see in this product compared to the other available sources of clinical information?

MC: Absolutely. The fact that it is brief, evidence-based, pretty focused, and the fact that it is going to be electronic makes it easier for clinicians to use it in their day-to-day practice.

PG: Could you tell us about the faculty that is working on the project at McMaster University?

MC: McMaster University has a very large faculty, many of whom are considered international experts across many different domains and subspecialties. Fortunately, because Roman [Jaeschke] has lots of friends at McMaster, you have been able to access some pretty eminent faculty. I think that you will find that people who are working on this project are extremely knowledgeable but also have a lot of evidence-based practice and understanding how evidence can be translated into clinical care of patients.