A survey study on "Turk-Orthopod", a Turkish electronic discussion group in orthopedics and traumatology

This study evaluated demographic data of Turk-orthopod members, an electronic mailing list organized for communication between Turkish speaking orthopedic surgeons, and the contribution of the mailing list to the academic improvement and education of its members. A twenty-seven item questionnaire was prepared for online survey and an e-mail massage was sent to the members of the e-group asking them to respond to the questionnaire. The response rate was 33% (n=225; 224 males, 1 female; mean age 36.5 years; range 25 to 64 years). A great majority of the respondents (74.2%) worked in a teaching hospital as a member of active education; 104 respondents worked in a medical school, and 76 respondents (33.8%) had a faculty membership. Access to scientific information (55.1%) was the most frequent reason for using the Internet. Messages related to case discussions (60.9%) and scientific announcements (27.6%) received the most attention and interest. Of the participants, 56.4% reported to have read all the incoming messages, and 35.1% reported not to have sent any messages to the group. Our electronic discussion group, Turk-orthopod, has proved to be a quick communication tool, presenting a considerable potential to contribute to continuous medical education of Turkish orthopedists.