Pradip D. Patel

Twelve tips for using social media as a medical educator

Background: We now live, learn, teach and practice medicine in the digital era. Social networking sites are used by at least half of all adults. Engagement with social media can be personal, professional, or both, for health-related and educational purposes. Use is often public. Lapses in professionalism can have devastating consequences, but when used well social media can enhance the lives of and learning by health professionals and trainees, ultimately for public good. Both risks and opportunities abound for individuals who participate, and health professionals need tips to enhance use and avoid pitfalls in their use of social media and to uphold their professional values. Aims and methods: This article draws upon current evidence, policies, and the authors’ experiences to present best practice tips for health professions educators, trainees, and students to build a framework for navigating the digital world in a way that maintains and promotes professionalism. Results and conclusions: These practical tips help the newcomer to social media get started by identifying goals, establishing comfort, and connecting. Furthermore, users can ultimately successfully contribute, engage, learn, and teach, and model professional behaviors while navigating social media.

Improving residents’ teaching skills: A program evaluation of residents as teachers course

Background: The role of residents as teachers is recognized as an important part of medical education. However, residents may not possess the practical skills needed to teach medical students effectively. Aim: In response to a Liaison Committee on Medical Education citation concerning surgery residents’ teaching skills, the University of Louisville School of Medicine instituted a campus-wide residents as teachers program based on the bringing education and service together curriculum. Methods: This evaluation plan is grounded on Kirkpatricks four levels model. Levels 1 and 2 data included post-session learner questionnaires (2007 and 2008) and open-ended facilitator questionnaires (2008). Levels 3 and 4 data included third year medical students’ responses to CourseEval® questions on residents as teachers (2005–2006 and 2007–2008) and data from third year medical student focus groups (2008). Results: Levels 1 and 2 data analysis showed statistically significant improvements from session to session in Year I and significant improvements between Years I and II. Levels 3 and 4 data analysis showed third year students’ perceptions of most residents as teachers remained high and improved significantly in the surgery clerkship. Conclusion: Short-term and long-term measures show this curriculum to be successful for an interdisciplinary group of residents.

The Responsible Use of Online Social Networking: Who Should Mentor Medical Students

Background: As medical students become more active in online social networking (OSN), there are increasing concerns regarding violations of patient privacy and a lack of professionalism. Purpose: Students need to be mentored, but who is best suited to the task? We hypothesized that residents are closer to students in usage and attitudes toward online communication than are faculty. If so, they would be more credible as mentors. Methods: We surveyed faculty (N = 16), 1st-year residents (N = 120), and 3rd-year medical students (N = 130) to compare attitudes about OSN and the online usage patterns. Results: We found residents to be more like students in usage patterns of personal electronic media and in their choice of the mentoring techniques that should be used. Conclusion: Residents say they were not prepared to mentor students without additional guidance but were more confident than faculty members that they had the knowledge to do so.

Opting in to Online Professionalism: Social Media and Pediatrics

* Abbreviations: AMA — : American Medical Association The Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics (COMSEP) is committed to excellence in medical student education in pediatrics. This article continues our series on skills of, and strategies used by, great clinical teachers. Kind et al argue that the digital world provides a great opportunity for clinical educators to promote and enhance student education and model professionalism. They provide resources and tips to get started using this domain . —Susan Bannister, MD Editor-in-Chief, COMSEP Monthly Feature Social media can be described as a digital space for creating and sharing information with others, disseminating it widely and rapidly.1 It can extend real-life learning and relationships into a shared space to foster online connections and learning. Physicians and physicians-in-training are entering this digital environment with little guidance on best practices. Professionalism lapses online can have consequences not only for individuals but also for public trust in the medical profession.2 And yet, when used well , social media enriches the personal and professional lives of clinicians and learners. We’ll consider the risky (red) zone, the safe but go slow (yellow) zone, and the opt in to opportunity (green) zone to explain the challenges students may face and to outline how to teach and model professionalism in the use of social media. Several studies describe social media use by medical students,3,4 physicians,5,6 and medical educators.7 In 2012, 67% of online adults reported using Facebook, 20% LinkedIn, 16% Twitter, 15% Pinterest, 13% Instagram, and 6% Tumblr.8,9 These and other platforms allow users to connect through words, photos, audio, or videos in various ways: privately or publicly, synchronously or asynchronously, and uni- or multidirectionally. There are also less public avenues, such … Address correspondence to Terry Kind, MD, MPH, Children’s National Medical Center, 111 Michigan Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20010. E-mail: tkind{at}childrensnational.org; [@kind4kids][1] (Twitter) [1]: http://www.Twitter.com/kind4kids

Assessing Medical Students’, Residents’, and the Public’s Perceptions of the Uses of Personal Digital Assistants

Although medical schools are encouraging the use of personal digital assistants (PDAs), there have been few investigations of attitudes toward their use by students or residents and only one investigation of the publics attitude toward their use by physicians. In 2006, the University of Louisville School of Medicine surveyed 121 third- and fourth-year medical students, 53 residents, and 51 members of the non-medical public about their attitudes toward PDAs. Students were using either the Palm i705 or the Dell Axim X50v; residents were using devices they selected themselves (referred to in the study generically as PDAs). Three survey instruments were designed to investigate attitudes of (a) third- and fourth-year medical students on clinical rotations, (b) Internal Medicine and Pediatrics residents, and (c) volunteer members of the public found in the waiting rooms of three university practice clinics. Both residents and medical students found their devices useful, with more residents (46.8%) than students (16.2%) (p < 0.001) rating PDAs “very useful.” While students and residents generally agreed that PDAs improved the quality of their learning, residents’ responses were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than students’. Residents also responded more positively than students that PDAs made them more effective as clinicians. Although members of the public were generally supportive of PDA use, they appeared to have some misconceptions about how and why physicians were using them. The next phase of research will be to refine the research questions and survey instruments in collaboration with another medical school.

Evaluating the Utility of Peer-Assisted Learning in Pediatrics

Peer-assisted learning (PAL) is the signature teaching/learning strategy for training young physicians. This study reports on a PAL program held during the third-year pediatric clerkship. Respondents felt PAL was useful. A senior elective incorporating PAL is now an official course. PAL is an effective adjunct to traditional teaching methods.

Photovoice in Kenya Using a Community-Based Participatory Research Method to Identify Health Needs

Photovoice, a community-based participatory research method, was utilized to delineate the health-related needs of a small rural community in Kenya. Within the Cherangany Constituency, 13 women were recruited and trained in digital photography and appropriate ethical conduct in photography (respect for privacy, consent, and confidentiality). Both individual and group interviews were conducted with the participants, and data were transcribed and analyzed for common themes by both the participants and the researcher. Common themes present in the photos were coded and prioritized in order of importance: (a) school fees, (b) water, (c) hospital fees, (d) sanitation, (e) orphans, (f) widows, (g) lack of jobs/capital, (h) disabilities, and (i) presence of disease. Data from this study will be utilized for (a) development of culturally competent health education, (b) site-specific education/training of incoming medical teams, and (c) informative meetings with local leaders regarding health and associated challenges.

An Evaluation of the University of Louisville School of Medicine Pediatric Summer Externship Program

BackgroundThe Pediatric Summer Externship Program began in 1997. It is a unique program designed to give preclinical medical students early exposure to pediatrics. Rotations are available with subspecialists, general pediatricians, and in rural pediatric offices across the state.PurposeA review of the program was undertaken to evaluate perceptions of the program among both students and faculty with the plan to disseminate a model of the program for use by other departments.MethodsA survey was sent to participants and faculty. Results were compared to a 2007 program review.ResultsThe externship was highly rated by both students and faculty. Both groups agreed the program prepared students for their clerkship years. Those rotating in rural locations stated they were more likely to consider rural medicine as a career.ConclusionsThis study suggests the pediatric externship program is a unique, replicable, well-established model that has provided a consistently positive experience over the past 15 years.

Senior Medical Student Mock Interview Program in Pediatrics.

Objectives Residency interviews play an integral part in medical residency placement. We aimed to develop and evaluate a mock interview program for fourth-year medical students interested in a pediatric specialty. Methods A mock interview program for fourth-year medical students interested in pediatrics was developed and implemented. Preinterview quantitative data and postinterview qualitative data were collected. Fifty-nine students completed the program across three consecutive academic years. Preinterview surveys were completed regarding comfort and confidence levels specific to aspects of the interview process. Descriptive analyses were used. In addition, a focus group was held with nine of the participating students to obtain qualitative data via a paper blog process. Themes in student responses were identified through constant comparative analysis. Results Before the mock interview, students were most uncomfortable with introductory and closing remarks and their confidence levels varied by topic. A thematic analysis of focus group data identified five themes (preparation, stress reduction, interview process familiarity, confidence of skills, and receiving feedback) for which the mock interviews were most helpful. Conclusions Implementation of a mock interview program was feasible and acceptable for senior medical students and may improve comfort and confidence levels in the residency interview process. Further longitudinal research is needed.