The ephemeris project: An internet-based system of journaling, mentoring and advocacy intended to preserve those personal values and ethics fundamental to the healthcare professional student [http://ephemerisproject.com]

Introduction: In an age of advanced medical technologies, The Ephemeris Project promotes and provides a venue of introspection and self-expression among healthcare professional students helping them participate in effective and compassionate care of their patients. Today's healthcare students must learn to balance the science of biomedical research and advanced medical technologies with the ethical implications and effects of such science on the patient and in particular on the physician-patient relationship. The implementation of tomorrow's technologies will require healthcare professionals to have an ethic-centered view of these technologies, cognizant of their science yet imbued with an appreciation of the enormous humanistic value inherent at their core. There must be assurance that the benefits of these technologies are fully realized and their expanding sphere of influence does not disenfranchise the patient nor depersonalize the physician-patient relationship. The inclusion of reflective writing about patient encounters can be 'therapeutic, cathartic and beneficial' to the education of students and help them appreciate that their life's work is truly one of 'privileged human relationships'. Methods: The Ephemeris Project provides a substantive Web-based portal, database and 24/7 email support/advocacy for Healthcare Professionals. Its platform is a personal/private journal which is entered on the website hosted at http://ephemerisproject.com. Each journal entry is simultaneously emailed to the user and collated in the user email account, sorted by journal entry and date. There is also a public message board program so that Health Professionals can publicly journal and share their stories, feelings and experiences. All public journal entries are monitored, moderated and mentored by a healthcare professional. Mentorship is essential, for this program cannot be effective without someone with whom the user can contact, confide in and seek advice. This Mentoring is provided by the experienced medical board of The Ephemeris Project. Links to publicly accessible commentaries and writings from leaders in the field of the History of Medicine, Biomedical Ethics, End-of-Life care, Philosophy and Literature will complement the program. Results: In the first ten months of the Beta version of the program, 48 health professionals registered as users. Comments from these registered users have been favourable and personal communications with medical, nursing, social work and pastoral students have been positive and encouraging. Discussion: The Ephemeris Project, using information technology which is familiar and available to all students, can make a sentinel contribution to the education of the healthcare professionals of tomorrow. The comfort of personal reflection, poetry and self-expression, that is reflective writing, can help students come to terms with the angst of illnesses and despairs of death. By writing thoughts which elucidate their feelings more clearly than the spoken word, they can become better healthcare professionals. The use of information technologies such as The Ephemeris Project to share these personal, age-old feelings with peers world-wide serves to strengthen the healthcare professional-patient relationship and foster compassion, empathy and ethic.