Thursday 20 March 2014

social media in medical education... it's all about the network



What is the role of Twitter in medical education?

I started using Twitter (and this blog) because I wanted to connect with people who I didn't know how to connect with otherwise. I wanted to connect to people who worked in medical education but I got a lot more than I bargained for. I found a wonderful network of people who I continually learn from. I can share, and get feedback, dip in and out, refine my thoughts, and the rest.

But do I think that we should use it in our courses? What for?

Last week I attended a workshop lead by Claudia Megele on social media in higher education. She has done tremendous work in establishing several 'knowledge networks' including #mhchat (mental health chat). She then introduced a group of social work students to social media including Twitter. They used pseudonyms but participated in regular Twitter chats and discussed topics online.

It seems to me that the most powerful thing that Claudia did was to introduce her students to her networks. She helped them to become part of a community discussing mutual topics of interest online.

So how can we, committed to health professional education, help our students? I think we can do the same thing. We can give our students access to our knowledge networks.


4 comments:

  1. Chris Porter MD26 March 2014 at 02:26

    Potential of digital networks in medical education is huge.

    The most important thing we can do for students and doctors-in-training is get our colleagues to stop creating closed content in our open-access world. Unlock content, then digital education networks (social media, blogs, academic sites) will explode.

    Video on the topic of digital networks in surgical education here: http://onsurg.com/digital-communities-and-surgical-education/

    ReplyDelete
  2. nice post.. i like this blog. i never read about this post.

    avalon University the school of medicine

    ReplyDelete
  3. Informa Healthcare30 April 2014 at 16:13

    Read Medical Teacher’s FREE Twelve Tips for using social
    media as a medical educator, http://bit.ly/R37DFp

    ReplyDelete
  4. Read Medical Teacher’s FREE Twelve Tips for using social
    media as a medical educator, http://bit.ly/R37DFp

    FREE until May 30th, 2014

    This article highlights 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.

    ReplyDelete

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