The role of social media in education: how to maximise learning

Résumé fourni par la source

Social media (SoMe) has had a profound impact on many aspects of society and, perhaps unsurprisingly, now has an increasingly prevalent role in medical education [1]. SoMe encompasses digital technologies that enable users to create and share content or participate in social networking. Medical professionals widely use SoMe platforms to access new research, as well as for conference participation and mentorship, which can enhance learning, engagement and collaboration. However, there remain considerable concerns that must be considered when using SoMe, including professionalism, patient confidentiality and resource quality. X (formerly Twitter) is widely used by medical professionals, academics and journals to promote new research, often spurring discussion and debate. These interactions can help to generate new research questions, develop new directions for research, and allow collaborative opportunities. Similarly, many traditional learning opportunities, such as practical courses, are advertised and promoted using SoMe. Learning can be enhanced with SoMe; for example, chat functions associated with posts on social media allow engagement from learners, and discussion among the learners themselves can be thought provoking and help users improve their understanding of the topic [1]. This also allows direct feedback in relation to the resource, which whilst undoubtedly useful, can sometimes be victim to overly disparaging comments that offer little in the way of constructive feedback. Trainees commenting on posts should therefore be mindful of remaining professional and follow best practice guidelines. SoMe not only has a role in medical education but can also be used to promote patient education, including public health campaigns and facilitating networking for patient support groups [1]. However, it should be noted that SoMe is vulnerable to misinformation being widely circulated and to scaremongering, which can have negative impacts on patients. One study reviewed videos posted on TikTok by patients following kidney stone surgery, with over half having an overall negative tone in relation to pain associated with ureteric stents, and with 12% including factually incorrect medical information [2]. Sharing of these videos has the potential to affect decision making by potential patients by giving a false impression of the actual occurrence of adverse events. Trainees should be mindful that patients may have misinformed preconceptions relating to conditions and the expected treatment course, which would then need to be addressed during consultations. There are guidelines produced by urological societies (European Association of Urology, American Urological Association and British Association of Urological Surgeons) with regards to social media use in urology, which provide useful advice to those developing and promoting resources through SoMe [3]. These include maintaining professionalism, patient confidentiality, establishing clear personal and professional boundaries, assuming permanence, protection of patient health information and using disclaimers where necessary. Often these guidelines are poorly adhered to, particularly with regards to obtaining patient consent, with one study reporting that 97% of posts containing surgical images did not contain an appropriate statement of patient consent [4]. Whilst a resource adhering to the principles outlined in the SoMe guidelines is perhaps more trustworthy, perhaps in the future a checklist may aid learners to evaluate the value of a resource. A YouTube video shared on another SoMe platform by a reputable organisation is likely to have undergone some form of peer review process, but nonetheless trainees should be prepared to individually critically appraise content and cross-reference with other sources. Urology trainees and residents commonly access videos on YouTube to prepare for surgical procedures [1]. One study reviewed the quality of scrotal exploration procedure videos uploaded on YouTube using a standardised scoring system and found these to be of overall low quality [5]. They also reported that overall number of views, viewer interactions (likes, dislikes and comments) and video duration were not useful predictors of quality. This emphasises one of the key issues of SoMe educational resources which is the difficulty in identifying high-quality resources that adhere to best practice principles and the lack of regulation. Peer-reviewed resources are available, such as the BJUI knowledge online learning platform, which has hundreds of e-learning modules and procedural videos, although a subscription is required to access these resources. Trainees can use SoMe sites such as Twitter to keep up to date with recent research activity and guidelines. Many will follow organisations or institutions or journals of interest which will share newly released work, often in a visual abstract form that showcases the key points of the article in an easily read format [1]. One study has reported that urology journals with a SoMe presence have stronger traditional metrics than those without and this also correlates with SoMe alternative metrics ‘altmetrics’, which are various measures of monitoring engagement [6]. This can allow trainees to keep abreast of new developments in their field and rapidly filter through articles to select those of relevance to them to read in more detail. Webinars and podcasts may be shared and accessed on SoMe and offer an easily accessible source for continuing medical education, often featuring discussions between experts on topics. The ease of accessibility is of benefit to trainees as resources can be accessed flexibly at convenient times, such as while commuting, and the comment sections promote interactivity, which can allow discussion of content and clarification of difficult concepts. Similarly, engagement with SoMe platforms during conferences can enable almost instantaneous discussion, even for those not in attendance, with Twitter commonly being used for this with hashtags. SoMe is almost unavoidable in both our professional and personal lives and maintaining a boundary between the two is essential. There are great educational benefits from SoMe for urologists, with interactivity and collaboration in research, networking and operative technique videos. Patients also benefit from public health campaigns and support groups. However, several aspects of best practice principles for using SoMe regarding patient confidentiality and consent, professionalism and disclaimers are often substandard. Although SoMe will continue to be a valuable source of education, medical professionals need to be vigilant when using resources as there remains a lack of regulation and quality control. The development of an end-user checklist may help in determining the quality of resources. The authors have no disclosures.