Studying from the Internet

I recently passed my Canadian Royal College of Surgeons Fellowship Examination in General Thoracic Surgery. I finished my training in the field in 2002 and after an interlude in Cardiac Surgery, I went ahead and sat the exams. That I passed is not remarkable or worth writing about. What is notable is that I studied, mostly, from the internet, as a matter of convenience and somewhat of a challenge. What does this say about the future of medical education and the apparent unlimited resources on-line? For me, it substituted for the textbook. I was able to take the book's table of contents and research the topics on-line and get all the necessary, relevant, and detailed information necessary to pass the examination. I would caution others that might want to take this approach: I had already, although some time ago, read a standard book in General Thoracic Surgery and completed my residency. Therefore, I could discern what was garbage and what was useful; I had context to fall back on.

Although, all this may not come to a surprise to many, it says to some that unless the quality of the standard textbooks improves, why should they be purchased if the same information is available on-line. Authors and editors of these tomes should provide us with not only data and information, but also share their knowledge and wisdom. The latter two are sorely lacking in "modern" textbooks.