New EAU Edu Platform delivers best topic-based content

With the abundance of online sources in the age of Google, reliable and concise content is king. Hence the inception of the new and improved EAU Edu Platform. An initiative by the European Association of Urology (EAU) in collaboration with the European School of Urology (ESU) and European Urology (EU), this educational platform showcases the latest developments in various fields of urology with the main objective of providing clear, accurate and topic-related content.

The increase in online scientific content in the past years is continual and massive. To make this colossal content easily accessible, compact and always relevant, the EAU Edu Platform aims to provide healthcare professionals (HCPs) with frontline updates beneficial to their clinical practice. Expect a mix of scientific and educational content ranging from the latest scientific articles, videos, e-courses, webinars and valuable insights of key opinion leaders on new urology developments and meeting highlights (both EAU and non-EAU; both European and non-European).

First platforms

The first topic-based platform launched early December was UROONCO, which covers three topics: Prostate Cancer, Kidney Cancer, and Bladder Cancer. UROONCO was initially an Elsevier undertaking but the management and coordination was taken over by the EAU in July 2018.

The platform was completely rebuilt and revamped in a contemporary, interactive and user-friendly way designed with HCPs in mind, such as urologists with varied levels of expertise; but researchers and patients can benefit from the information found on the platform as well. So far, this approach has been proven successful. Collectively, UROONCO received a whopping 2,500 unique site visits in just two weeks since its launch beginning of December.

The early success of the new educational platforms strongly depends on the selective curation of relevant and newsworthy content. This is the task of the editorial board. Each topic is overseen by dedicated editorial board members. They are experts in their field, experienced reviewers and published authors in highly-regarded scientific journals who handpick the best content for the platform on a monthly basis. By providing their perspectives on new research and developments in concise commentaries, visitors have a better idea of the impact of these new developments to their clinical practice.

More to come

In January 2019, the final design stages of the platforms for Male LUTS (Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms), Bedwetting and Nocturia will be completed. The designated editorial boards are already working on the first updates. If the success of the first platforms is steady, topic expansion can be expected.

Another ambition for 2019 is to pursue accreditation from EU-ACME (European Urology- Accredited Continuing Medical Education) for the whole platform. Together with the EU-ACME board, the first steps are being looked into. Granted that ESU e-courses are already credited, UROONCO will run CME-accredited activities such as monthly assessments through multiple-choice questions in the near future.

To know more about UROONCO, feel free to explore https://uroonco.uroweb.org/.