Objective/ Background: Social media is a powerful tool that has transformed how we communicate, access information, and collaborate. In this workshop, we will explore creative ways to use social media platforms to augment OB/GYN medical education by providing clinical pearls, reviewing subjects for shelf exams, and highlighting public health topics. While video platforms have previously been used to promote medical education, the short length of TikTok-style videos captivates the audience’s attention and encourages rapid lectures centering on high-yield takeaways.
Methods: We conducted a comprehensive literature review to evaluate and investigate the use of social media in medical education and OB/GYN clerkship education to improve medical student knowledge surrounding reproductive healthcare topics. We also conducted a search of existing popular social media accounts among medical professionals to investigate the subject matter and topics covered in these videos targeted toward medical students. Furthermore, we conducted a literature review on how to create engaging content on various social media accounts to inform our recommendations for the workshop audience attendees.
Results: We identified six main topic areas to include in social media campaigns to increase medical student engagement during the OB/GYN clerkship: 1) clinical pearls, 2) high-yield review for shelf exam, 3) increasing interest in OB/GYN specialty, 4) tips for success during clerkship, 5) student empowerment, and 6) highlighting public health topics. We also identified five key recommendations for creating engaging video content on social media, including limiting the length of videos to a maximum of 30 seconds, focusing on one specific topic per video, using a ring light to improve video quality, incorporating closed captioning to promote equity, and incorporating popular TikTok trends.
Conclusion/ Discussion: Social media can be used to augment medical student education in OB/GYN clerkship in a variety of ways. Social media is a powerful tool for incorporating racial and gender diversity into medical education curriculums through representation of diverse presenters and patients described in cases. Furthermore, social media platform posts can also offer suggestions for medical students to appropriately respond to mistreatment in the learning environment to improve medical students’ experiences during the clerkship.
Topics: Faculty Development Seminar, 2024, Student, Resident, Faculty, Clerkship Director, Clerkship Coordinator, Medical Knowledge, Systems-Based Practice & Improvement, Public Health,
Madeline Thornton, MPH; Brittany Cureton, MPH; Amy Bryant, MD, MSCR