Podcasting in Medicine: A Review of the Current Content by Specialty

An electronic survey of preferred podcast format and content requirements among trainee emergency medicine specialists in four Southern African universities

“…A shorter podcast duration (5–15 min) was preferred for all content delivery-types. This contrasts with USA-based EM registrars who preferred longer podcasts (20–30 min), aligning with the global average EM podcast-length of 36.6 min [ 7 , 8 ]. The preference of our study participants for shorter podcasts may support their relative aversion toward didactic lectures, as the traditional length of faculty lectures is 45 min ( Fig.…”

“…Podcasts also provide an excellent source of asynchronous and self-directed learning [ 6 ]. There is a significant and growing body of emergency medicine (EM) podcasts available [ 7 ].…”

Podcasting in Medicine: The Current Content by Emergency Medicine Subspecialty

“…The use of podcasts to educate and inform physicians has been rapidly expanding; most recently graduated physicians and those still in training are increasingly exposed to podcasts during their formal and continuing education [ 1 , 8 - 10 ]. While it has been shown that medical podcasts, in general, have increased in number and popularity over the past 20 years, a recent study had cataloged current medical podcasts and determined EM had the largest number of podcasts and the most available content [ 2 , 7 ]. This study further expands on the variability of podcast distribution by each searched EM subspecialty.…”

“…EMS was found to have more active and inactive podcasts, but Medical Education was found to have a much higher amount of content, with 1.5-times the number of available episodes as EMS and 4-6-times the number of episodes as Ultrasound and Toxicology (the next two most active subspecialties). Other EM subspecialties had limited content available, which provides a gateway for members of these subspecialties to publish additional educational opportunities in what many learners have found to be a favorable means of obtaining medical content and potentially continuing medical education credit [ 1 , 2 , 7 - 10 ].…”

“…The utilization of podcasts in medicine has seen a similar growth and depth to that of podcasting in general, with specific podcasts targeting almost every discipline and specialty within medicine [2,7]. This study represents a Google-based assessment of currently free podcasts by specific subspecialties in EM, with the specific aim of better defining the availability, content, and characteristics surrounding these podcasts.…”