Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Social media in undergraduate medical education: A systematic review

Guckian, Jonathan; Utukuri, Mrudula; Asif, Aqua; Burton, Oliver; Adeyoju, Joshua; Oumeziane, Adam; Chu, Timothy; Rees, Eliot L.

Authors

Jonathan Guckian

Mrudula Utukuri

Aqua Asif

Oliver Burton

Joshua Adeyoju

Adam Oumeziane

Timothy Chu

Eliot L. Rees



Abstract

Introduction
There are over 3.81 billion worldwide active social media (SoMe) users. SoMe is ubiquitous in medical education, with roles across undergraduate programmes, including professionalism, blended learning, well-being and mentoring. Previous systematic reviews took place before recent explosions in SoMe popularity and revealed a paucity of high-quality empirical studies assessing its effectiveness in medical education. This review aimed to synthesise evidence regarding SoMe interventions in undergraduate medical education, to identify features associated with positive and negative outcomes.
Methods
Authors searched 31 key terms through seven databases, in addition to references, citation and hand searching, between 16th June and 16th July 2020. Studies describing SoMe interventions and research on exposure to existing SoMe were included. Title, abstract and full paper screening were undertaken independently by two reviewers. Included papers were assessed for methodological quality using the Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument (MERSQI) and/or the Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR) instrument. Extracted data were synthesised using narrative synthesis.
Results
112 studies from 26 countries met inclusion criteria. Methodological quality of included studies had not significantly improved since 2013. Engagement and satisfaction with SoMe platforms in medical education are described. Students felt SoMe flattened hierarchies and improved communication with educators. SoMe use was associated with improvement in objective knowledge assessment scores and self-reported clinical and professional performance, however evidence for long term knowledge retention was limited. SoMe use was occasionally linked to adverse impacts upon mental and physical health. Professionalism was heavily investigated and considered important, though generally negative correlations between SoMe use and medical professionalism may exist.
Conclusions
Social media is enjoyable for students, may improve short term knowledge retention and can aid communication between learners and educators. However, higher-quality study is required to identify longer-term impact upon knowledge and skills, provide clarification on professionalism standards and protect against harms.

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date May 8, 2021
Online Publication Date May 14, 2021
Publication Date 2021-11
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Medical Education
Print ISSN 0308-0110
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 55
Issue 11
Pages 1227-1241
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.14567
Keywords Education, General Medicine
Publisher URL https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/medu.14567