Social Media in Ophthalmology: The Educational and Professional Potential for Medical Students

Schmuter, Gabriella; Tooley, Andrea A.; Chen, Royce W.S.; Law, Janice C.

doi:10.1055/s-0040-1709178

Cited by 9 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Medical students have limited exposure to ophthalmology during the formal curriculum, 66 and many students lack basic ophthalmic clinical skills 67 . While students have reported a strong preference for in‐person tuition, 67 social media offers numerous paedagogical options, including sharing of instructive clinical images and videos, as exemplified by the Instagram account, @the.eyedoc, 68 or in interactive tutorials hosted on networking sites 69 . A paucity of evidence for effectiveness of teaching ophthalmology over social media has been emphasised 70 .…”

Section: Applications Of Social Media In Ophthalmic Education Trainin...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…67 While students have reported a strong preference for in-person tuition, 67 social media offers numerous paedagogical options, including sharing of instructive clinical images and videos, as exemplified by the Instagram account, @the.eyedoc, 68 or in interactive tutorials hosted on networking sites. 69 A paucity of evidence for effectiveness of teaching ophthalmology over social media has been emphasised. 70 One study conducted at Khawaja Muhammad Safdar Medical College, Pakistan, showed that lectures and supporting materials shared on Facebook and WhatsApp, combined with guided interactive discussions, achieved significant learning based on pre-and post-test assessments.…”

Section: Medical Student Teachingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Social media and ophthalmology: A review

Nguyen

Tsui

Smith

2022

Clinical Exper Ophthalmology

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Social media is being widely used across ophthalmology. Its communication tools have been employed more often by ophthalmologists in private practice than academia, although academic institutions may be more impactful influencers. There are opportunities to promote ophthalmic services and to augment traditional clinical care. Social media provides a medium to disseminate peer-reviewed literature in ophthalmology, and to expand conference experiences. It is used for teaching ophthalmology at medical schools and attracting medical students into ophthalmology training, and for research in ophthalmology. Important considerations when using social media include the required time commitment and the public nature of interactions. The high level of misinformation in medical social media remains a challenge for both ophthalmologists and their patients, and the ophthalmologist can play an active role in addressing the issue. This review considers the role that social media is playing in ophthalmology today, including impact on ophthalmic practice, applications in ophthalmic education and training, and patient-focused networking.

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Section: Applications Of Social Media In Ophthalmic Education Trainin...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Medical Student Teachingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social media and ophthalmology: A review

Nguyen

Tsui

Smith

2022

Clinical Exper Ophthalmology

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“…1 Within ophthalmology, social media has been used to market practices, disseminate educational material, track conjunctivitis epidemics, communicate with patients, and connect colleagues. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Another emerging use of social media across medicine is the marketing of residency training programs. 9 Ophthalmology training program rankings such as Doximity incorporate "reputation" data when compiling their rankings.…”

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confidence: 99%

A Characterization of Ophthalmology Residency Program Social Media Presence and Activity

Al-Khersan

Tanenbaum

Lazzarini

et al. 2020

Journal of Academic Ophthalmology

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Objective To determine the presence and activity of ophthalmology departments associated with residency programs on social media platforms and the use of these social media platforms by residency applicants. Design Cross-sectional online assessment of ophthalmology training program departments' presence and activity on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Participants A total of 120 accredited ophthalmology residency training programs and 498 ophthalmology residency applicants. Methods Each department was evaluated by (1) searching for social media links on the department's Web site, (2) searching for the department on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and (3) searching on Google. A simultaneous survey was conducted to assess social media platform use of 2019 to 2020 ophthalmology residency application cycle candidates. Main Outcomes The presence of ophthalmology departments on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as well as the total number of followers and posts during January 2020. Results Of 120 programs evaluated, 45 programs (37.5%) had a Facebook page, 29 (24.3%) were on Twitter, and 22 (18.3%) had an Instagram page. Among top 20 Doximity-ranked ophthalmology programs, 80% had at least one social media page on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram compared with 33% among the remainder of programs (chi-square test = 15.2, p < 0.001). Top 20 programs also had more followers compared with others on Facebook (4,363 vs. 696, respectively, p < 0.0001) and Twitter (3,673 vs. 355, respectively, p = 0.007) but not on Instagram (1,156 vs. 1,687, respectively, p = 0.71). Among 498 residency applicants to Bascom Palmer Eye Institute from the 2019 to 2020 cycle, 159 (31.9%) responded to a survey regarding their use of social media during the application process. In total, 54 (34%) responded that they used social media to evaluate residency programs. Conclusion Departments of top 20 ophthalmology residency had both a greater presence and following on social media compared with other departments. While Facebook was the most used platform by ophthalmology departments, applicants most commonly used Instagram. As applicants come to use these social media resources more frequently, ophthalmology residency programs may increasingly benefit from maintaining an active social media page.

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“…Although research is limited, social media platforms have been used as an informal supplement to graduate-level medical education. 23 , 24 Several studies have reviewed how online social media platforms can increase engagement through a cognitive, social-emotional, and behavioral lens. Physicians have joined various online communities to read new articles, listen to experts, and consult colleagues on patient issues.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using a Facebook Virtual Examination Room to Enhance ROP Training in Armenia

Sikder¹,

Mehta²,

Galoyan³

et al. 2022

OPTH

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Purpose Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a leading cause of worldwide childhood blindness with increasing incidence in low and middle income countries (LMICs) due to advances in neonatal care. There are insufficient numbers of healthcare professionals specialized in ROP management and few local training opportunities in LMICs. Social media platforms provide a promising solution to enable interactive medical education across geographic and logistic barriers. As an adjunct to an ROP training program for ophthalmologists in Armenia, we implemented a Facebook Virtual Examination Room (VER) for case discussion with a global community of collaborators and preceptors. To evaluate training through VER, we operationalized engagement as a multilayer meta-construct that includes cognitive, behavioral, and social-emotional domains. Methods A concurrent mixed methods approach was taken to collect and analyze data from comments and activities within VER. Quantitative data was analyzed for descriptive statistics on group utilization, participant activity, and clinical metrics. Qualitative data was analyzed by conducting thematic analysis involving initial and pattern coding. Results Ten participants (7 trainees and 3 preceptors) interacted in the Facebook group across 153 unique cases, with 218 threads, 414 comments, and 216 likes. Of the 120 unique cases eligible for consensus evaluation, treatment was mentioned most frequently (87), followed by location (68), staging (65), and plus disease (31), with agreement ranging from 67% to 97%. Based on the qualitative analysis, the most common themes of discussion were clinical management, dilemma resolution, knowledge growth, and gratitude. Conclusion A closed Facebook group for case-based discussions can be a useful adjunct to an existing ROP training program by engaging learners across social-emotional, behavioral, and cognitive domains. For international training partnerships, the financial and logistical advantages can be significant, though focus should remain on the primary curriculum and training modality.

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Social Media in Ophthalmology: The Educational and Professional Potential for Medical Students

Cited by 9 publications

References 19 publications

Social media and ophthalmology: A review

Social media and ophthalmology: A review

A Characterization of Ophthalmology Residency Program Social Media Presence and Activity

Using a Facebook Virtual Examination Room to Enhance ROP Training in Armenia

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