Will Podcasting and Social Media Replace Journals and Traditional Science Communication? No, but...

The digital world in which we live is changing rapidly. The evolving media environment is having a direct impact on traditional forms of communication and knowledge translation in public health and epidemiology. Openly accessible digital media can be used to reach a broader and more diverse audience of trainees, scientists, and the lay public than can traditional forms of scientific communication. The new digital landscape for delivering content is vast, and new platforms are continuously being added. In this article, we focus on several, including Twitter and podcasting, and discuss their relevance to epidemiology and science communication. We highlight 3 key reasons why we think epidemiologists should be engaging with these mediums: 1) science communication, 2) career advancement, and 3) development of a community and public service. Other positive and negative consequences of engaging in these forms of new media are also discussed. The authors of this commentary are all engaged in social media and podcasting for scientific communication, and we reflect on our experiences with these mediums as tools to advance the field of epidemiology.

Solutions for Shared Resource Lab Remote Quality Control and Instrument Troubleshooting during a Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected shared resource lab (SRL) staff in-person availability at institutions globally. This article discusses the challenges of ensuring reliable instrument performance and quality data output while facility staff and external service provider on-site presence is severely limited. Solutions revolve around the adoption of remote monitoring and troubleshooting platforms, provision of self-service troubleshooting resources specific to facility instruments and workflows, development of an assistance contact policy, and ensuring efficiency of limited in-person staff time. These solutions employ software and hardware tools that are already in use or readily available in the SRL community, such as remote instrument access tools, video hosting and conferencing platforms, and ISAC shared resources. © 2020 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry.

Does YouTube include high-quality resources for training on laparoscopic and robotic radical prostatectomy?

PURPOSE: Our aim was to assess the educational quality of the YouTube video content related to laparoscopic and robotic radical prostatectomy (RP). METHODS: An objective scoring tool named as Prostatectomy Assessment and Competency Evaluation (PACE) score was used to measure and quantify seven critical steps in RP including bladder drop, preparation of the prostate, bladder neck dissection, posterior/seminal vesicle dissection, neurovascular bundle preservation, apical dissection, and urethro-vesical anastomosis. A five-point scale was used for grading the seven steps, where a score of 1 and 5 represented the lowest and ideal performance, respectively. Additionally, descriptive statistics including the upload time, video length, view count, number of comments, likes, and dislikes were all recorded. RESULTS: Of the 1688 videos (551 from laparoscopic RP, 567 from robotic RP, and 570 from robot-assisted RP), 226 videos were analyzed after excluding duplicate and irrelevant videos. Robotic/robot-assisted RP videos were found to be statistically longer than laparoscopic RP videos (p = 0.016). The PACE score of urethro-vesical anastomosis step in robotic RP videos was statistically higher than laparoscopic RP videos (p = 0.021). A weak but significant positive correlation between the video length and total PACE score (rho: 0.51; p = 0.04 for laparoscopic RP and rho: 0.43; p = 0.03 for robotic/robot-assisted RP) was found. A weak but positive correlation was also determined between number of likes and total PACE score (rho: 0.39; p = 0.02) for robotic/robot-assisted RP videos. CONCLUSIONS: Although YouTube website includes high-quality videos for both laparoscopic and robotic/robot-assisted RP, there is no objective parameter to predict the educational quality of the videos.

Storytelling in Acoustic Spaces: Podcasting as Embodied and Engaged Scholarship.

Health Communication launched the "Defining Moments" feature of the journal in 2009, including essays that showcase the social and material power of storytelling. Over the past 10 years, essays have enlarged academic conventions and offered diverse entry points for refiguring the experience of living well in the midst of inescapable illness, trauma, and disability. Health Communication builds on this legacy by introducing a podcast by the same name. In this essay, I position podcasting as embodied and engaged scholarship that connects health communication scholars, physicians and other care providers, patients and families, and general publics interested in illness and healthcare, vulnerability and well-being.

Emergency Medicine and Critical Care Blogs and Podcasts: Establishing an International Consensus on Quality.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: This study identified the most important quality indicators for online educational resources such as blogs and podcasts. METHODS: A modified Delphi process that included 2 iterative surveys was used to build expert consensus on a previously defined list of 151 quality indicators divided into 3 themes: credibility, content, and design. Aggregate social media indicators were used to identify an expert population of editors from a defined list of emergency medicine and critical care blogs and podcasts. Survey 1 consisted of the quality indicators and a 7-point Likert scale. The mean score for each quality indicator was included in survey 2, which asked participants whether to "include" or "not include" each quality indicator. The cut point for consensus was defined at greater than 70% "include." RESULTS: Eighty-three percent (20/24) of bloggers and 90.9% (20/22) of podcasters completed survey 1 and 90% (18/20) of bloggers and podcasters completed survey 2. The 70% inclusion criteria were met by 44 and 80 quality indicators for bloggers and podcasters, respectively. Post hoc, a 90% cutoff was used to identify a list of 14 and 26 quality indicators for bloggers and podcasters, respectively. CONCLUSION: The relative importance of quality indicators for emergency medicine blogs and podcasts was determined. This will be helpful for resource producers trying to improve their blogs or podcasts and for learners, educators, and academic leaders assessing their quality. These results will inform broader validation studies and attempts to develop user-friendly assessment instruments for these resources.

eLearning among Canadian anesthesia residents: a survey of podcast use and content needs.

BACKGROUND: Podcasts are increasingly being used in medical education. In this study, we conducted a survey of Canadian anesthesia residents to better delineate the content needs, format preferences, and usage patterns among anesthesia residents. METHODS: 10/16 Canadian anesthesia program directors, representing 443/659 Canadian anesthesia residents, allowed their residents to be included in the study. 169/659 (24%) residents responded to our survey. A 17-item survey tool developed by the investigators was distributed by email eliciting information on patterns of podcast use, preferred content, preferred format, and podcast adjuncts perceived to increase knowledge retention. RESULTS: 60% (91/151) had used medical podcasts with 67% of these users spending up to 1 hour per week on podcasts. 72.3% of respondents selected 'ability to review materials whenever I want' was selected by the majority of respondents (72%) as the reason they found podcasts to be valuable. No clear preference was shown for audio, video, or slidecast podcasts. Physiology (88%) and pharmacology (87%) were the most requested basic science topics while regional anesthesia (84%), intensive care (79%) and crisis resource management (86%) were the most requested for procedural, clinical and professional topics respectively. Respondents stated they would most likely view podcasts that contained procedural skills, journal article summaries and case presentations and that were between 5-15 minutes in duration A significantly greater proportion of senior residents (81%) requested podcasts on 'pediatric anesthesia' compared to junior residents 57% (P = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: The majority of respondents are using podcasts. Anesthesia residents have preferred podcast content, types, length and format that educators should be cognizant of when developing and providing podcasts.

Evaluating the reliability of gestalt quality ratings of medical education podcasts: A METRIQ study.

INTRODUCTION: Podcasts are increasingly being used for medical education. Studies have found that the assessment of the quality of online resources can be challenging. We sought to determine the reliability of gestalt quality assessment of education podcasts in emergency medicine. METHODS: An international, interprofessional sample of raters was recruited through social media, direct contact, and the extended personal network of the study team. Each participant listened to eight podcasts (selected to include a variety of accents, number of speakers, and topics) and rated the quality of that podcast on a seven-point Likert scale. Phi coefficients were calculated within each group and overall. Decision studies were conducted using a phi of 0.8. RESULTS: A total of 240 collaborators completed all eight surveys and were included in the analysis. Attendings, medical students, and physician assistants had the lowest individual-level variance and thus the lowest number of required raters to reliably evaluate quality (phi >0.80). Overall, 20 raters were required to reliably evaluate the quality of emergency medicine podcasts. DISCUSSION: Gestalt ratings of quality from approximately 20 health professionals are required to reliably assess the quality of a podcast. This finding should inform future work focused on developing and validating tools to support the evaluation of quality in these resources.

Attending Physician's Attitudes Toward Podcasting as a Source of Medical Education: An Exploratory Study.

INTRODUCTION: People are increasingly consuming information on-demand. Podcasting is a growing medium for education in an on-demand world. There is a paucity of data on podcasting as a means of continuing medical education (CME) for attending physicians. METHODS: The authors performed an exploratory survey of a convenience sample of listeners to a Pediatric Hospital Medicine podcast to learn about their attitudes regarding podcasting. A 17-question survey consisting of demographic data, attitudinal questions, and qualitative questions was administered electronically in February 2018. RESULTS: At the time of the survey, the 12 podcast episodes were downloaded 17,288 times, with 162 CME credits being issued. Of 129 respondents, 75.2% were attendings. The majority agreed the podcast was of "high educational value" and was of equal or better educational value as medical journals or national conferences. Qualitative content analysis revealed listeners valued the convenience of the podcast, and community-based hospitalists felt the podcast connected them to the broader hospitalist community. DISCUSSION: Our respondents found podcasting to be a beneficial and convenient learning method. The ability to apply for CME credit was not a major motivation for listening. Further research is needed to investigate more objective outcomes and assess attitudes of a random sampling of physicians as opposed to a self-selected sample.

From ancient to avant-garde: a review of traditional and modern multimodal approaches to surgical anatomy education.

The landscape of surgical anatomy education is progressively changing. Traditional methods, such as cadaveric dissection and didacticism are being increasingly phased out in undergraduate courses for multimodal approaches incorporating problem-based learning, radiology and computer-based simulations. Although effective at clinically contextualizing and integrating anatomical information, these approaches may be a poor substitute for fostering a grasp of foundational 'pure' anatomy. Dissection is ideal for this purpose and hence remains the cornerstone of anatomical education. However, novel methods and technological advancements continually give way to adjuncts such as cadaveric surgery, three-dimensional printing, virtual simulation and live surgical streaming, which have demonstrated significant efficacy alone or alongside dissection. Therefore, although divergent paradigms of 'new versus old' approaches have engulfed and divided the community, educators should seek to integrate the ancient and avant-garde to comprehensively satisfy all of the modern anatomy learner's educational needs.

ALiEM Blog and Podcast Watch: Procedures in Emergency Medicine.

INTRODUCTION: The WestJEM Blog and Podcast Watch presents high-quality, open-access educational blogs and podcasts in emergency medicine (EM) based on the ongoing Academic Life in EM (ALiEM) Approved Instructional Resources (AIR) and AIR-Professional series. Both series critically appraise resources using an objective scoring rubric. This installment of the Blog and Podcast Watch highlights the topic of procedure emergencies from the AIR Series. METHODS: The AIR Series is a continuously building curriculum that follows the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors' (CORD) annual testing schedule. For each module, relevant content is collected from the top 50 Social Media Index sites published within the previous 12 months, and scored by eight AIR board members using five equally weighted measurement outcomes: Best Evidence in Emergency Medicine (BEEM) score, accuracy, educational utility, evidence based, and references. Resources scoring ≥30 out of 35 available points receive an AIR label. Resources scoring 27-29 receive an "honorable mention" label if the executive board agrees that the post is accurate and educationally valuable. RESULTS: A total of 85 blog posts and podcasts were evaluated in June 2016. This report summarizes key educational pearls from the three AIR posts and the 10 Honorable Mentions. CONCLUSION: The WestJEM Blog and Podcast Watch series is based on the AIR and AIR-Pro series, which attempts to identify high-quality educational content on open-access blogs and podcasts. This series provides an expert-based, post-publication curation of educational social media content for EM clinicians, with this installment focusing on procedure emergencies within the AIR series.

ALiEM Blog and Podcast Watch: Toxicology.

INTRODUCTION: The WestJEM Blog and Podcast Watch presents high-quality open-access educational blogs and podcasts in emergency medicine based on the ongoing Academic Life in Emergency Medicine (ALiEM) Approved Instructional Resources (AIR) and AIR-Professional (Pro) series. Both series critically appraise open-access educational blogs and podcasts in EM using an objective scoring instrument. This installment of the blog and podcast watch series curated and scored relevant posts in the specific topic of toxicology emergencies from the AIR-Pro Series. METHODS: The AIR-Pro Series is a continuously building curriculum covering a new subject area every two months. For each area, eight EM chief residents identify 3-5 advanced clinical questions. Using FOAMsearch.net and FOAMSearcher to search blogs and podcasts, relevant posts are scored by eight reviewers from the AIR-Pro editorial board, which is comprised of EM faculty and chief residents at various institutions across North America. The scoring instrument contains five measurement outcomes based on seven-point Likert scales: recency, accuracy, educational utility, evidence based, and references. The AIR-Pro label is awarded to posts with a score of ≥28 (out of 35) points. An "honorable mention" label is awarded if board members collectively felt that the blogs were valuable and the scores were > 25. RESULTS: A total of 31 blog posts and podcasts were included. Key educational pearls from the six high-quality AIR-Pro posts and four honorable mentions are summarized. CONCLUSION: The WestJEM ALiEM Blog and Podcast Watch series is based on the AIR and AIR-Pro Series, which attempts to identify high-quality educational content on open-access blogs and podcasts. This series provides an expert-based, crowdsourced approach towards critically appraising educational social media content for EM clinicians. This installment focuses on toxicology emergencies.

Design and Evaluation of Video Podcasts for Providing Online Feedback on Formative Pharmaceutical Calculations Assessments.

Objective. To evaluate worked example video podcasts as a method of providing feedback to pharmacy interns for an online and formative pharmaceutical calculations assessment. Methods. A theory-informed approach based on multimedia learning theory was used to design video podcasts as feedback on a calculations examination. A mixed-methods evaluation completed by pharmacy interns enrolled in Ireland's National Pharmacy Internship Programme was used to establish cognitive and affective attitudes toward video podcasts compared with conventional written solutions. Results. The majority of students found video podcasts were clear, helpful for learning, easy to understand, and useful as a method of feedback. Majority reported that they felt positively about standard written solutions. The evaluation suggested distinct benefits for each kind of feedback, something that has not been previously reported. Thematic analysis of qualitative data indicated useful features of video podcasts, including clear explanation, step-by-step approach, and synchronization of audio and visual information. Conclusion. Respondents reported positive cognitive and affective attitudes toward video podcasts as online feedback. Video podcasts are a helpful and novel way of providing feedback on pharmaceutical calculations. A similar opinion of traditional written solutions suggests that students may benefit from both forms of feedback. Further study is required to identify the particular benefits associated with both kinds.

Educating medical residents through podcasts developed by PharmD students.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Podcasts are increasingly popular in education due to their accessibility, portability, and scheduling flexibility. Pharmacy students often interact with resident physicians during advanced pharmacy practice experiences, but few studies have evaluated their ability to teach medical residents about pharmacotherapy concepts or how these interactions might impact their own development. We sought to evaluate the efficacy of pharmacy student-created podcasts in two areas: the ability to increase medical resident understanding of selected medical topics and the effect on the pharmacy student's confidence in teaching. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: Eight fourth-year pharmacy students created enhanced podcasts and assessment questions on a medical topic. The assessment questions were split randomly into pre- and post-podcast assessments to be given to residents. The assessment quizzes and podcast comprised content modules that were delivered to consenting medical residents at two week intervals. Pharmacy student confidence was evaluated with pre- and post-experience surveys, which were administered before they created the podcast and after they viewed the aggregate results of resident assessments of their podcast. FINDINGS: Overall, 79.3% (23/29) of residents participated with an average of 44% participation on each module. Resident knowledge increased as evidenced by the overall aggregate score, significantly improving from 36% prior to podcasts to 76% following podcasts (p=0.001). When rated on a 1-10 scale, average pharmacy student confidence in teaching their topic also significantly increased from 5.63 to 8.00 (p=0.041). SUMMARY: Podcasts are an effective method for medical residents to learn from pharmacy students and may also improve pharmacy students' confidence in their abilities.

A Systematic Review and Qualitative Analysis to Determine Quality Indicators forHealth Professions Education Blogs and Podcasts.

BACKGROUND: Historically, trainees in undergraduate and graduate health professions education have relied on secondary resources, such as textbooks and lectures, for core learning activities. Recently, blogs and podcasts have entered into mainstream usage, especially for residents and educators. These low-cost, widely available resources have many characteristics of disruptive innovations and, if they continue to improve in quality, have the potential to reinvigorate health professions education. One potential limitation of further growth in the use of these resources is the lack of information on their quality and effectiveness. OBJECTIVE: To identify quality indicators for secondary resources that are described in the literature, which might be applicable to blogs and podcasts. METHODS: Using a blended research methodology, we performed a systematic literature review using Google Scholar, MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and ERIC to identify quality indicators for secondary resources. A qualitative analysis of these indicators resulted in the organization of this information into themes and subthemes. Expert focus groups were convened to triangulate these findings and ensure that no relevant quality indicators were missed. RESULTS: The literature search identified 4530 abstracts, and quality indicators were extracted from 157 articles. The qualitative analysis produced 3 themes (credibility, content, and design), 13 subthemes, and 151 quality indicators. CONCLUSIONS: The list of quality indicators resulting from our analysis can be used by stakeholders, including learners, educators, academic leaders, and blog/podcast producers. Further studies are being conducted, which will refine the list into a form that is more structured and stratified for use by these stakeholders.

[The use of video as preparation for the objective structured clinical examination in medicine and surgery]. / Anvendelse af video som forberedelse til stationsbaseret eksamen i medicin og kirurgi.

The objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) is a tool for measuring the dimensions of clinical competences. OSCE differs from traditional oral or written examination and results should not be influenced by lack of knowledge of the testing type. We prepared a video describing the practical aspects. On a Likert scale from 1 to 7 our video was rated 4 (interquartile range (IQR): 4-6). An informatory lecture was rated 4 (IQR: 3-5) and a rehearsal OSCE was rated 6 (IQR: 5-7). Video use peaked in the days up to OSCE. Accessibility should be improved by reaching out using the appropriate tools. We encourage the use of video for preparation to new examination types.

Assessing the credibility of the "YouTube approach" to health information on acute myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: This study was designed to assess the credibility of YouTube video information on acute myocardial infarction by exploring the relationship between accuracy of information on the topic, source of expertise, and perceived credibility of the message. HYPOTHESIS: Health information videos in YouTube possess a diverse mix of information and can easily mislead online information seekers. METHODS: The Web site http://www.YouTube.com was queried for the following search terms: "acute myocardial infarction," "heart attack," "acute coronary syndrome," and "ST-elevation myocardial infarction." The resulting videos were categorized according to the source of the video and content was analyzed for discussion of different aspects of disease, ranging from pathophysiology to treatment. RESULTS: Only 6% of videos touched upon all aspects of acute myocardial infarction. These were mostly from professional societies, were of long duration, and were among the least viewed. Videos that described personal experiences were "liked" or "disliked" most and had the majority of comments. Only 17% of the videos discussed the preventive aspects of the disease and stressed weight-loss and exercise programs. Videos that stressed prevention were advertisements for specific weight-loss programs (45%) and diet pills (30%). Very few videos stressed other risk factors. A large number of videos were irrelevant. CONCLUSIONS: YouTube is a popular platform across the globe for sharing video information, including videos related to health and disease. However, the information on this platform is not regulated and can easily mislead those seeking it. We suggest that authoritative videos should come from reputable sources such as professional societies and/or academic institutions and should provide unbiased and accurate information on all aspects of diseases like acute myocardial infarction.