Using the iBook in medical education and healthcare settings--the iBook as a reusable learning object; a report of the author's experience using iBooks Author software.

The recently launched iBooks 2 from Apple has created a new genre of 'interactive multimedia eBook'. This article aims to dscribe the benefit of the iBook in a medical education and healthcare setting. We discuss the attributes of an iBook as compared with the requirements of the conventional web-based Reusable Learning Object. The structure and user interface within an iBook is highlighted, and the iBook-creating software iBooks Author is discussed in detail. A report of personal experience developing and distributing an iBook for junior trainees in oral and maxillofacial surgery is provided, with discussion of the limitations of this approach and the need for further evidence-based studies.