The link between medical education and social media as a teaching tool: a narrative review

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53843/bms.v5i8.116

Keywords:

Online teaching, Technology equipment, Medical Students, Internet, COVID-19

Abstract

Introduction: In 2020, in the COVID-19 pandemic, social media became even more important for teaching. That being said, this paper aims to analyse its use as a medical educational tool, in the pandemic context and to analyse required adaptations in order to establish this model, given that the critical analysis of these tools’ usage brings essential information of how to proceed. Method: This paper is a narrative review, focusing on the guiding question: “What is the role of social media as a tool for medical education during the COVID-19 pandemic?”. The research came to a selection of published studies from 2020 on the databases PubMed, Lilacs, e Scielo. The inclusion criteria were title content, answer to the guiding  question, original language Portuguese or English and abstract content. Systematic reviews and duplicate studies were excluded. Results: The data collection gathered 42 articles, 17 of which were included in the study. Of these, 11 were about medical students and 5 about medical residency programs. In analysis, it was identified the accentuation of the growing trend of using these media for educational purposes in medicine and the dichotomy between positive and negative points. Discussion: Social media have become indispensable for medical education in the pandemic, providing greater knowledge, exchange of information and networking among its members on various platforms. However, they still have limitations such as the spreading of incorrect data, problems with internet access, lack of social interaction and unethical situations. Despite this, it was found that when using them in mostly practical and presential disciplines, such as anatomy and surgery, these tools enabled the clinical sense and protagonism of the academic. Conclusion: As a result, social media stood out as valid, robust and accessible communication networks, promoting teaching, learning and research, although improvements are needed to increase their usefulness in medical education.

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Published

21.10.2021

How to Cite

1.
Cordeiro Flores PH, Thomé Heleno I, Braz de Carvalho Ferreira G, José Rodrigues K, de Souza Ramos M, Calábria da Silveira S, Cardoso Barbosa A, Coimbra Pereira de Jorge M. The link between medical education and social media as a teaching tool: a narrative review. BMS [Internet]. 2021 Oct. 21 [cited 2024 Dec. 4];5(8). Available from: https://bms.ifmsabrazil.org/index.php/bms/article/view/116