This is the first in a series of short digital video productions, delivered via the internet, that seek to explain some of the exciting advances happening in cyberspace, and how these might be applied to medicine.

Fundamental to this discussion is the concept of Web 2.0.

Anyone familiar with computer programs will realise that version 2 of anything is usually better, faster, more engaging, more reliable and more user friendly than version 1.

So it is with web 2.0 which is generally accepted as starting in early 2005. Web 2 is not a major change in the technical infrastructure of the underlying medium but rather a major culture shift in how it is used. Prior to this change most web content was professionally produced by web authors or design professionals.

End users accessed, or browsed, this content using programs such as Internet Explorer, Firefox or Safari.
In effect the web became a huge reference library where one could research any topic of interest.

But the user was disempowered. He was able to use the content, but not contribute to it. He could not correct an error in an online document. He could not converse with the content author, except via primitive and kludgey tools such as email and discussion forums.
Web 1.0 still exists - and has a very important role.

But then came web 2.0
Early pioneers include Myspace, Facebook, Bebo, Wikkipaedia and of course the Blogs. We will discuss these in detail in future netcasts but for now we can consider these sites as being typified by content that is either generated by the users themselves, or a prominent member of the community they serve. Critically this content is then shared online where it is open to comment and critique. Other community members may add their own input, for example by way of blogs, or they may vote on ideas - such as using the DIG web site. A user might bookmark the content and share it with their friends via one of the many social bookmarking tools
There is a new web. More vibrant. More creative. More social. Where previously there were only web developers and readers. Now everyone has an opinion, everyone can create content, and everyone can take part in what can become a web based collective consciousness.

Where previously web developers created content, now they create communities. THIS is web 2.0

This has been a very short introduction. Future netcasts will introduce some of the tools of the new web. RSS, BLOG, DIG, Delicious, Netcast, Podcast. Don’t be put off by the technical jargon. For in reality the web has escaped the domain of the geek and is rapidly empowering everyday people all over the world.

Welcome to the new web.

General anaesthesia has many similarities with taking a flight by jet. You turn up at the alloted time after minimum preparation, you are checked in, go through security screening, get on the plane, fall asleep, get off again the other end and not think too much about it — most of the time! It is only when we have a rough flight, or the baggage gets lost, that we become aware of all of the people, procedures and events that ensures a satisfactory outcome whenever possible. General anaesthesia is the same.

This posting will outline phases we pass through before, during and after general anaesthesia. Subsequent posts will expand these to help you to understand why we ask all of those personal questions, why it really does matter, and how we can all work together to ensure a successful outcome.

Notification: The Anaesthetist is given basic details such as name, contact details and a very brief summary of any known medical problems. This information can derive from diverse sources such as hospital administration, the surgeon, theatre bookings or even telepathy. Telepathy? .Yes some days it does help to be telepathic. We have all had days where we get to the end of the operating list only to find an extra patient added that we knew nothing about. The upshot is that if you know you have a problem with general anaesthesia start mentioning it to anyone and everyone you are in contact with so that your anaesthetist gets to know about it.

Preoperative assessment: This is usually where you get to meet your anaesthetist, or someone deputising for them - another anaesthetist, an anaesthetist in training or a suitably trained nurse. Occasionally preoperative assessment is performed via questionnaire or telephone but there are many things that we look for where we have to do exactly that - look!

Preoperative fast: This is where we starve you and stop you drinking. Its all for your own safety and will be explained in the more detailed post. But it matters!

Premedication: Some people need drugs to prepare them for surgery. This may be to remove anxiety, control blood pressure, prevent nausea, control diabetes, relieve asthma. All sorts of little tricks we have to make the anaesthesia itself smoother and safer.

Induction: Finally you get to go off to sleep!

Maintenance: We keep you asleep.

Emergence: Start breathing. Start coordinating. Start talking!

First stage recovery: Wake up, see the world is still there and plan what comes next.

Second stage recovery: Sleep it off. Get street fit!

The first 24hrs: Clear those drugs, take the pain killers, have a rest.

Convalescence: Rest, reflect and provide feedback. And if you are a private patient - please remember to pay the account. Anaesthetists have school fees to pay for the kids too!

Have you noticed something in the number of words for each section? Time spent on detailed preoperative assessment and planning results in very simple, planned, safe, boring general anaesthesia. General anaesthesia should be boring. Boring is good, exciting is bad.

Think about it next time you fly - have a boring flight!

This Blog is being created for a multitude of purposes. If I were being grandiose I could say this project has numerous objectives. But that would be grandiose. In reality I have been using Internet web publishing for almost 15 years - since the days of the Gasbone project at The University of Queensland. Gasbone was an experiment in the early 1990s to develop online medical education in various formats and evaluate its delivery. Unfortunately the original Gasbone web server has long since suffered the ravages of entropy but some of the original presentations live on on the main palmer.net.au web site together with some of my more recent offerings.

So why a Blog.

Well a Blog will allow more frequent updates, reader comments and all kinds of advanced technological things. Over time I intend to produce a series of postings which attempt to demystify some aspects of Anaesthesia and even Medicine in general. Eventually there may even be Podcasts - both audio and video.

But before you run, you have to walk. So first the Blog.

ENJOY