Identifying Opportunities to Integrate Digital Professionalism into Curriculum: A Comparison of Social Media Use by Health Profession Students at an Australian University in 2013 and 2016

Abstract

Social media has become ubiquitous to modern life. Consequently, embedding digital professionalism into undergraduate health profession courses is now imperative and augmenting learning and teaching with mobile technology and social media on and off campus is a current curriculum focus. The aim of this study was to explore whether patterns of social media use for personal or informal learning by undergraduate health profession students enrolled at an Australian university across four campuses has changed over time. A previously validated online survey was administered in 2013 to a cohort of health profession students as part of an Australian survey. In 2016, the same survey was distributed to a later cohort of health profession students. Three open-ended questions to elicit descriptive information regarding the use of social media for study purposes were added to the later survey. A comparative analysis of both cohorts was undertaken and social media acceptance and penetration was shown to increase. Health profession students are now more interactive users of Facebook and Twitter, and they have become more familiar with career development sites, such as LinkedIn. The maturation of social media platforms within a three-year period has created realistic opportunities to integrate social media for personal and study purposes into the health profession education curriculum to ensure student understanding of the necessity for maintaining digital professionalism in the workplace.

Nursing informatics in undergraduate nursing education in Australia before COVID-19: A scoping review

“…Nursing students used digital devices such as computers, laptops, iPads, iPods, and Smartphones to communicate, access educational applications, and learning materials in the face to face classes, virtual classes and clinical laboratories ( Brown & McCrorie, 2015a ; Ferguson et al, 2016 ; Mawson, 2014 ). Furthermore, these devices enabled students to communicate and collaborate with their peers and the faculty through social media platforms such as Facebook, Skype, Twitter, and YouTube ( Bogossian et al, 2018 ; Ferguson et al, 2016 ; Mather, Douglas, & Jane, 2017 ). Social media facilitated safe collaboration, independent learning, access to resources, and collaboration during group work and assignments ( Ferguson et al, 2016 ; Mather et al, 2017 ).…”

“…Furthermore, these devices enabled students to communicate and collaborate with their peers and the faculty through social media platforms such as Facebook, Skype, Twitter, and YouTube ( Bogossian et al, 2018 ; Ferguson et al, 2016 ; Mather, Douglas, & Jane, 2017 ). Social media facilitated safe collaboration, independent learning, access to resources, and collaboration during group work and assignments ( Ferguson et al, 2016 ; Mather et al, 2017 ). Students used social media, journals, television, and radio as sources of information ( Mather et al, 2017 ).…”

“…Social media facilitated safe collaboration, independent learning, access to resources, and collaboration during group work and assignments ( Ferguson et al, 2016 ; Mather et al, 2017 ). Students used social media, journals, television, and radio as sources of information ( Mather et al, 2017 ).…”

“… Students perceived that simulation was realistic. Debriefing session allowed students to address their feeling after the simulation sessions Klein et al (2019) , Australia “To examine the use of three computer programs designed for the study of gross anatomy; An@tomedia Online, AnatomyTV, and Thieme, as in-class learning support programs within the newly adopted "Block model" of teaching delivery at Victoria University.” Blended learning, Computer based learning Mixed methods, intervention study Undergraduate nursing students (n=179) Computer-based Learning (CAL) using A natomyTV®; An@tomedia®; and Thieme® The majority of students (94.8%) indicated that the computer-based anatomy program was useful Students preferred An@tomedia® Online and Thieme® compared to AnatomyTV® Students perceived that An@tomedia® and Thieme ® provided valuable learning experience, class participation, and were user-friendly programs Koch, Andrew, Salamonson, Everett, and Davidson (2010), Australia “To explore students' utilisation and perceptions of the benefit and value of a web-based intervention developed for a first-year Bachelor of Nursing bioscience unit.” Online/Virtual learning Mixed methods, intervention study Undergraduate nursing students (n=553) Web-based intervention to support learning through multimedia The majority of students (81%) stated that web-based activities enhanced their learning, learning at on their own pace (78%), and responding to their learning needs Students positively perceived the use of glossary, quizzes, videos and learning resources and content delivery Students suggested the integration of similar web-based activities in all modules Mather, Douglas, and Jane (2017) , Australia “To identify the opportunities to integrate digital professionalism into the curriculum: A comparison of social media use by health profession students at an Australian University in 2013 and 2016.” Online/Virtual learning, Social media use Mixed methods, a cohort study Undergraduate nursing students (n=310 in the 2013 cohort; and n=430 in the 2016 cohort) n/a Students used online media, journals, television, radio as a source of information. Students used mostly Facebook followed by Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn Students used social media to study, and collaborate on group works and assignments Mawson (2014) , Australia “To determine if simulation aided by media technology contributes towards an increase in knowledge, empathy, and a change in attitudes in regards to auditory hallucinations for nursing students.” Clinical simulation Quantitative, pre-post matched design Undergraduate nursing students (n=60) Scheduled classroo...…”

Analyzing Nursing Students’ Relation to Electronic Health and Technology as Individuals and Students and in Their Future Career (the eNursEd Study): Protocol for a Longitudinal Study

“…Moreover, a study measuring students’ perceptions of the usefulness and ease of use of technology as a pedagogical tool in nursing education showed that they saw it as highly useful. In addition, use of social media in nursing education attracts interest as a learning platform [53-55] but is not seen as uncontroversial despite the potential benefits [56].…”