Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Medicine/Newsletter

Things you'd like to see in future newsletters
This is just a placeholder so I don't forget. WAID mentioned at WT:MED occasional tie-ins with other groups such as WP:WikiProject COVID-19, or WP:CHEM or the WP:FTN. Any other things folks would be interested in? Ajpolino (talk) 02:20, 5 June 2020 (UTC)

*depending on the COVID-19 situation, I might be inclined to do a piece on it (Im currently the #2 editor on the article behind only Doc James) --Ozzie10aaaa (talk) 11:56, 5 June 2020 (UTC) (unfortunately wont be able to this month, time issues)


 * What do you think about doing a little history? I have two ideas about how to do this:
 * One is to talk about milestones in the WikiProject's history. For example,  CLINMED (WPMED's predecessor) was created in May 2004.  There are presumably milestones such as the first FAC submission, the first newsletter, creation and promotion of MEDRS and MEDMOS, etc., that could be mentioned in various newsletters as anniversary events.
 * I just looked up what cancer looked like on the day that CLINMED was created, and it's really amazing how far we've come. There's a List of month-long observances that could be used to provide some ideas.  March appears to be Brain tumor and Colon cancer month.  When were those articles created, what did they look like on some WPMED milestone date, have they reached any article milestones themselves, etc?
 * I don't know how much work this would be, but it might be fun, and it could be done well in advance. WhatamIdoing (talk) 02:41, 11 February 2021 (UTC)
 * I think those are both excellent ideas! I may have to lean on some of the longer-serving editors to help fill in some of the historical project details. Also I like the idea of using one of the medicine-related observances as a theme. If anyone has any particular ideas or interest in running something, feel free to speak up. Otherwise I'll put together something this month if I can find a minute. Ajpolino (talk) 04:04, 11 February 2021 (UTC)

Wikimedia Research Showcase on medical knowledge
The Wikimedia Research Showcase (which happens soon) might make a good subject for a short note. WhatamIdoing (talk) 06:39, 14 July 2020 (UTC)
 * That would be great! Sadly I won't be able to attend, but perhaps someone else (WAID, do I see your hand up?) could write something? Either way, thanks for bringing it up! I assume the livestream will be recorded and posted for no-longer-live-streaming? If so, I can watch it later and put something together. Ajpolino (talk) 19:01, 14 July 2020 (UTC)

Ajpolino, would you turn my notes into something suitable? See Wikimedia Research/Showcase for the official descriptions and links. (The YouTube recording will be available indefinitely.) The first was a really interesting evaluation of Wikipedia as an information resource, by a librarian, that I can't do justice to right now. She argues that instead of talking about whether Wikipedia "should" be used, that experts in the various fields should realize that it "is" used by a wide variety of audiences and therefore should be improved. Also, she thinks that the literature on Wikipedia's accuracy, is on the elderly side and uses inappropriate comparators (e.g., seeing whether an encyclopedia is a viable substitute for a surgical textbook). Everything she says about "audience" is spot-on.

The second presentation is basically a love letter from the researcher to the editors who have written about COVID-19 on Wikipedia.

A few small points:


 * About 28% of scholarly articles are published in open-access (free to read) journals.
 * The Wikipedia Library has access to some paywalled journal articles, and WPMED folks should take advantage of that.
 * Parents use Wikipedia articles when they're trying to figure out how to explain a disease to their kids. They are looking to us for examples of how to do that.  Simpler language is wanted in this situation.
 * In COVID-19 articles, citations to public health and clinical medicine are underrepresented, and citations to immunology and molecular biology are overrepresented.
 * You can get a list of public health journals by going to https://www.scopus.com/sources.uri and searching for the "Subject area" of "Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health". You can limit this list to journals that are free to read by use the filters on the left side to "Display only Open Access journals", which will give you a list of open-access journals that starts with such top-tier journals as Environmental Health Perspectives and The Lancet Public Health.

WhatamIdoing (talk) 18:05, 15 July 2020 (UTC)

Interview
Ajpolino, an idea for your next newsletter; interview the newly active WPMED editors? I am thinking of Berchanhimez, Memdmarti, anyone else you can come up with, and a format like Wikipedia Signpost/2008-11-24/Dispatches where you generate a list of questions and they respond. I don't know how to come up with a list of relatively new members, since this silliness was invented for joining the project that prevents me finding a simple list. You could ask new-ish members how they found the project, why they decided to join, what they like and dislike ... all sorts of stuff! Sandy Georgia (Talk)  14:36, 17 August 2020 (UTC)
 * Possibly PainProf as well, to round it out to three? In trying to sort through how our member list is generated now, it's not very helpful ... these three (Memdmarti, Berchanhimez, PainProf) have been active on project talk pages.  (See work at Articles for deletion/Chaperone code) Sandy Georgia  (Talk)  14:56, 19 August 2020 (UTC)
 * Thanks! I probably won't have time to throw together an August feature this week, so it'll be a short newsletter. But perhaps for September. Keep the thoughts coming! Ajpolino (talk) 22:50, 26 August 2020 (UTC)

December newsletter pings
Hi I currently have GAs you've nominated listed at the WP:MED December newsletter. If there's some way you feel the listing should appear differently (e.g. if you co-nominated the article with someone but I didn't notice) please let me know some time in the next week. Happy Thanksgiving to the Americans (and I suppose to everyone else)! Ajpolino (talk) 20:11, 25 November 2020 (UTC)
 * Might you find a way to work in mention of the possibility of a WP:TFA for immune system (only if we get it cleaned up in time) to coincide with potential COVID vaccine news? Sandy Georgia  (Talk)  20:22, 25 November 2020 (UTC)
 * Sure, my plan is to run it as the December collaboration of the month (since it has a deadline of sorts). So I'll mention the TFA plan in that announcement. Ajpolino (talk) 23:12, 25 November 2020 (UTC)

Backlog formatting
any preference on how we format the backlog lists going forward? For January I tried a sortable table that includes some extra info, but is probably clunkier to edit than the December list. If you have a preference, or if there's a different format you'd like to try, please let me know. Thanks for working on these lists! I hope you're all doing well. Ajpolino (talk) 15:49, 9 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Hi ... I'm happy to go through that list that I only discovered today. The ones with less material on them are easier. Thanks for creating the list. Whispyhistory (talk) 16:01, 9 January 2021 (UTC)
 * I found the December format a bit easier to respond to. P.S. I just nominated my seventh vitamin for GA. Goal is to complete all vitamins, probably leaving the big one (Vit D) for last. David notMD (talk) 16:15, 9 January 2021 (UTC)
 * I was fine with how it was formatted in December. I didn't find it troublesome to navigate. TylerDurden8823 (talk) 19:27, 9 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Sortable is the way to go. Thank you. Can you add a category? For the newsletter, it might be nice to put this upfront and center. I really like this template example for picking targets but I do not know what I am asking. --Akrasia25 (talk) 19:37, 9 January 2021 (UTC)
 * could you clarify what you mean by "Can you add a category?" Also, for all, if you have particular suggestions for backlogs you'd be interested to work on, let me know. If you prefer to be surprised, then say nothing and your wish will come true. Thanks all for the feedback! Happy new year. Ajpolino (talk) 19:43, 10 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Maybe category was the wrong wording. If you look at the chart above for the automobile project you can see which articles are most important or appeal to particular editors. Some editors like to work on stubs or starts. I am not sure how easy that is.--Akrasia25 (talk) 23:36, 10 January 2021 (UTC)

Bisphosphonate
Hi, I really like the table that is on the bisphosphonate wikipedia page. I found out from DMacks that you were the original author and DMACKS formatted the information you put there in 2004. Do you remember where you got all the information about the bisphosphonates? I am writing a journal article and would love to find the original sources. Thank you!
 * Hi there IP. I think you're trying to reach, which you can do at User talk:Jfdwolff. I'm assuming you clicked "Discuss this issue" at the bottom of that page which led you here (a page for discussing the WikiProject Medicine Newsletter). Instead, you should click the "New section" box near the top-right of that page, and post away! Best of luck. Ajpolino (talk) 23:35, 5 August 2021 (UTC)

Mechanism
Hey, I would really like some kind of a run-down on how your are working a Project newsletter? Many thanks, in advance - Mjquinn_id (talk) 21:35, 6 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Base Template for content
 * Messaging it to all? -or- Post to Project, sending a short notice to all participants?
 * What tool?
 * Hi, I'm glad you posted, I completely forgot we're already a week into September! Time for another newsletter.
 * Anyway to your questions, I started writing the newsletter after this brief discussion at WT:MED. As I noted there, the formatting is based on the WP:TOL Newsletter which has been on hiatus for the last year. I took that newsletter, tweaked some colors, and just put in my text. Now for each month I just copy the previous month's newsletter and change the text. I send it out via the mass messaging tool (instructions for how to format and request a mailing are at that page). I send it once a month to talk pages of subscribers. WP:MED is a large project, so I don't send it to all "project participants", just to those who subscribed to the newsletter. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask me at my talk page. Happy editing. Ajpolino (talk) 22:36, 6 September 2021 (UTC)

Reference campaign
Please consider putting https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/Wikipedia/WikiProject_Medicine_reference_campaign_2023/students/overview into the next newsletter. WhatamIdoing (talk) 17:29, 19 May 2023 (UTC)