Instagram as a Learning Tool in Neurology: A Prospective Study

Author(s):  
Georges T. Bakhos ◽  
Karine J. Abou Khaled

Abstract Background: Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, there were remarkable changes in people’s lifestyle with a tendency to spend more time on social media rendering its platforms essential in all fields. This study was designed to look at the potential role of Instagram as a learning tool in neurology among Saint Joseph University (Beirut, Lebanon) medical students.Methods: This prospective study was spread over the period of 3 months, between the 10th of October and the 10th of December 2020. The target population was the medical students at Saint Joseph University (Beirut, Lebanon) in their 3rd to 7th academic year. The purpose was to evaluate the impact of the Instagram page called “La Synapse” on the students’ answers to ten neurology multiple choice questions (MCQs) before and after their exposure to the page’s content. The evaluation was done through a questionnaire conceived on Google Forms that also covered demographical characteristics, social media usage for educational purposes and their feedback post-exposure. In addition, we intended to evaluate the students’ opinion on using social media as a learning tool. The results were analyzed by comparing the pre-exposure and post-exposure data.Results: A total of 180 students were enrolled in the pre-exposure questionnaire (40% of the entire population) and 107 (59.44%) out of the initial group participated in the post-exposure questionnaire. Most students (81%) already used social media for educational purposes with YouTube being the most popular (51%). After exposure, 95% said to have profited from the experience but the junior students benefited more than the seniors. “Mnemonics” were the most practical learning strategy (44%) according to the participants. Regarding the MCQs, an improvement was found in seven out of the ten questions, with three having a statistically significant upswing (p < 0,05).Conclusions: The Instagram page “La Synapse” was an efficient tool for transmitting neurological information to medical students. These results should encourage the development of future prospective studies to better explore the role of social media in medical education.

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  

Background: With the COVID-19 pandemic, the medical community saw many changes to practices and policies including medical education and the residency application process. Traditionally medical students in their fourth year of their training are allotted time for away rotations at an institution of their choosing. As a result of COVID-19, many medical schools were forced to eliminate away rotations from their curriculum due to concerns about student safety. This led to the advent of social media outlets designed for the specific purpose of providing medical students with information about residency programs in an effort to recruit interested candidates. With virtual meetings, online communications, and social media platforms all becoming a cornerstone in management of day-to-day hospital functioning this seemed the most appropriate way of adapting to the pandemic while still finding a way to communicate with medical students interested in orthopaedic surgery (9). We hypothesize that the advent of social media accounts during the COVID-19 pandemic would play a role in the orthopaedic residency application process. Question/Purpose: Our question was to determine the role of social media on the orthopaedic surgery residency application process during the COVID-19 era. Patients/Methods: An electronic survey consisting of 12 multiple-choice questions was created to query medical students applying to the field of orthopaedics about the role of social media on their application process. The survey link was emailed to all orthopaedic residency applicants available through the ERAS system. Conclusion: Based on our results it appears applicants may be using social media accounts as a tool to get onto a residency program’s “radar” rather than to obtain meaningful information about a program. Medical students do however find zoom meetings and open houses to be meaningful and provide valuable insight for their application process.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (s1) ◽  
pp. 64-64
Author(s):  
Fara Dayani ◽  
Paymon Rahgozar

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: The discipline of plastic and reconstructive surgery (PRS) is poorly understood by the public, primary care physicians, and nurses. The aim of our study is to assess medical students’ knowledge and perceptions of PRS as a discipline and explore factors influencing these opinions. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: To assess medical student’s knowledge and perception of PRS, we distributed an online survey to all medical students at all training levels (i.e. first year to fourth year) enrolled at UCSF School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA during 2019-2020 academic year. In the survey, participants were asked to match 12 surgical subspecialties with 36 operative procedure scenarios. In addition, the survey included questions investigating the most common social medical platform used by medical students and the role of medical social media accounts in contributing to their knowledge of surgical subspecialties. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Medical students demonstrated a profound gap in knowledge in plastic surgery. The majority of respondents correctly identified plastic surgeons as the primary surgeons performing the cosmetic procedures listed (abdominoplasty, facelift, and liposuction). PRS was identified as the primary specialty involved in breast reconstruction (94.4%) and burns surgery (88.9%). There was poor understanding of the role of plastic surgeons in hand surgery(16.6%), craniofacial surgery(14.8%), and head and neck cancer surgery(9.3%). 52.4% of respondents follow medical social media accounts and 45.6% of respondents indicated that social media contributed to their knowledge of surgical subspecialties. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Medical students, who form the next generation of doctors, have limited knowledge regarding versatile applications of PRS. Misconceptions about the discipline of PRS negatively impacts resource allocation and hinders the delivery of care to patients that would profoundly benefit from this specialty. CONFLICT OF INTEREST DESCRIPTION: No authors have financial disclosures or conflicts of interest to declare.


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 2225-2252
Author(s):  
E.V. Popov ◽  
V.L. Simonova ◽  
O.V. Komarova ◽  
S.S. Kaigorodova

Subject. The emergence of new ways of interaction between sellers and buyers, the formation of new sales channels and product promotion based on the use of digital economy tools is at the heart of improving the business processes. Social networks became a tool for development; their rapid growth necessitates theoretical understanding and identification of potential application in enterprise's business process digitalization. Objectives. We explore the role of social media in the digitalization of business processes, systematize the impact of social networks on business processes of enterprises in the digital economy. Methods. The theoretical and methodological analysis of social networks as a tool for digitalization of company's business processes rests on the content analysis of domestic and foreign scientific studies, comparison, generalization and systematization. Results. We highlight the key effects of the impact of social networks on the business processes of the company; show that the digitalization of business processes should be considered in the context of a value-based approach, aimed at creating a value through the algorithmization of company operations. We determine that social networks are one of the most important tools for digitalization of company's business processes, as they have a high organizational and management potential. We also systematize the effects of social media on company's business processes. Conclusions. We present theoretical provisions of the impact of social networks on business processes of enterprises, which will enable to model and organize ideas about the development of digital ecosystems and the formation of business models.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivia Hughes ◽  
Rachael Hunter

BACKGROUND Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin condition, which can be affected by stress. Living with psoriasis can trigger negative emotions, which may influence quality of life. OBJECTIVE This study explored the experiences of people with psoriasis with attention to the potential role of anger in the onset and progression of the chronic skin condition. METHODS Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with twelve participants (n=5 females, n=7 males) recruited online from an advert on a patient charity’s social media platforms. Data were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS Four key themes were identified: (1) ‘I get really angry with the whole situation:’ anger at the self and others, (2) the impact of anger on psoriasis: angry skin, (3) shared experiences of distress, and (4) moving past anger to affirmation. CONCLUSIONS Findings suggest that anger can have a perceived impact on psoriasis through contributing to sensory symptoms and unhelpful coping cycles and point to a need for enhanced treatment with more psychological support. The findings also highlight the continued stigma which exists for people living with skin conditions and how this may contribute to, and sustain, anger for those individuals. Future research could usefully focus on developing targeted psychosocial interventions to promote healthy emotional coping with psoriasis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-87
Author(s):  
Nina Gorenc

The research behind this paper is set in the context of the 2016 US presidential election that has come to symbolize the post-truth era. We conducted a literature review on the 2016 election, with the aim to better understand the impact of computational propaganda on the election outcome and on the behaviour of voters. The paper opens with a definition of post-truth society and related concepts such as fake news and computational propaganda. It explores the changes of political communication in a digital environment and analyses the role of social media in the 2016 election. It probes into phenomena such as the trivialization of politics and the loss of credibility of political actors, which are both common in post-truth societies. The reviewed literature seems to indicate that social media have become strong actors on the political stage, but so far not the predominant source of political information and influence on the behaviour of voters. The paper makes two important contributions. Firstly, drawing on the concept of post-truth society, it analyses the role of computational propaganda in the 2016 presidential election, and secondly, it attempts to explain the paradox of general political apathy on one hand, and increased political activism on the other. These are some of the challenges we are now facing, and in order to be able to cope with them it is important to acknowledge and understand them.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Tuccori ◽  
Irma Convertino ◽  
Sara Ferraro ◽  
Emiliano Cappello ◽  
Giulia Valdiserra ◽  
...  

The COVID-19 pandemic that hit the world in 2020 triggered a massive dissemination of information (“infodemic”) about the disease channeled through the web and social media. This “infodemic” included also sensational and distorted information about drugs, which likely affected primarily opinion leaders and people particularly active on social media, and subsequently other peoples leading to inadequate choices by individual patients everywhere. In particular, for some drugs approved with other indications, namely chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, NSAIDs, ACE inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor antagonists, favipiravir and umifenovir, information has spread that has led to a hazardous use. In this article, we analyzed the rationale behind the claim for use of these drugs in COVID-19, the communication about their effect on the disease, the consequences of this communication on people's behavior and the response of some influential regulatory authorities in an attempt to minimize the actual or potential risks arising from this behavior. Finally, we discussed the role of pharmacovigilance stakeholders in emergency management and possible strategies to be put in place to deal with other similar situations in the future.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debanjan Banerjee ◽  
K. S. Meena

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has emerged as a significant and global public health crisis. Besides the rising number of cases and fatalities, the outbreak has also affected economies, employment and policies alike. As billions are being isolated at their homes to contain the infection, the uncertainty gives rise to mass hysteria and panic. Amidst this, there has been a hidden epidemic of “information” that makes COVID-19 stand out as a “digital infodemic” from the earlier outbreaks. Repeated and detailed content about the virus, geographical statistics, and multiple sources of information can all lead to chronic stress and confusion at times of crisis. Added to this is the plethora of misinformation, rumor and conspiracy theories circulating every day. With increased digitalization, media penetration has increased with a more significant number of people aiding in the “information pollution.” In this article, we glance at the unique evolution of COVID-19 as an “infodemic” in the hands of social media and the impact it had on its spread and public reaction. We then look at the ways forward in which the role of social media (as well as other digital platforms) can be integrated into social and public health, for a better symbiosis, “digital balance” and pandemic preparedness for the ongoing crisis and the future.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-46
Author(s):  
Mesirawati Waruwu ◽  
Yonatan Alex Arifianto ◽  
Aji Suseno

The limitless development of social media, its meaning and function have begun to shift, no longer as a means of establishing relationships, communication, but at the stage of losing the role of ethics and morals, even disputes have occurred triggered by debates from communicating in social media. The purpose of this study is to describe the role of Christian ethics education in relation to the impact of social media development in the era of disruption. Using descriptive qualitative methods with literature literature can find solutions for believers in facing moral decadence due to social media abuse by knowing the era of disruption and ethical challenges from the wrong use of social media can affect moral decadence so that Christian ethics education on a biblical basis can bring modern humans. Believers in particular have become bright in social media and their use in accordance with Christian faith in this era of disruption.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-17
Author(s):  
Momin Kashif ◽  
Mirza Nisar Baig

Background: The rapid growth and availability of smartphones and social media platforms (SMP) have changed the medical students' approach to learn and manage the information about their academic, personal and professional lives. Methods: An online survey was done in undergraduate medical students of PIMS, Karimnagar to collect information about usage pattern and perception of SMP, and willingness to participate for using SMP as a learning tool in medical education. Results: Total 433 (Females – 275) out of 600 students participated in the survey from the first year (125), secondyear (151) and third-year (157) MBBS students. Everyone is using some type of SMP. They find SMP nearly equal to lecture materials and subject notes as a useful learning tool and there was significantly increasing trend of perception of SMP being a useful learning tool from the first-year (79%), second-year (83%) to third-year (92%), (p=0.01). Almost 93% want to see SMP used at institute level in medical education. Female students (52.4%) are significantly more willing for active participation than male students (43%), p=0.04. First-year students (56%) are more ready for active participation followed by third (48.4%) and second (43.7%) year students, p=0.08. Conclusion: Most students are willing to include SMP in medical education as a learning tool and ready to participate in different activities if they get the required training. As all students have smartphones and efficiently utilizing different services on their devices, SMP can become an effective learning tool in medical education.


Author(s):  
Hilary Humphreys ◽  
Niall Stevens ◽  
Louise Burke ◽  
Mariam Sheehan ◽  
Siobhán Glavey ◽  
...  

AbstractPathology is important in training to become a medical doctor but as curricula become more integrated, there is a risk that key aspects of pathology may be excluded. Following a survey of the current delivery of teaching in Ireland under the auspices of the Faculty of Pathology at the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, suggested components of a core curriculum in pathology have been developed to be delivered at some stage during the medical course. These have been based on key principles and themes required by the Medical Council in Ireland. Professionalism is one of the core principles emphasised by the Medical Council. It includes the role of the pathologist in patient care and other professional values such as patient-centred care, clinical competencies and skills, e.g. explaining results, and knowledge under the various sub-disciplines, i.e. histopathology (including neuropathology), clinical microbiology, haematology, chemical pathology and immunology. In each of these, we suggest key aspects and activities that the medical graduate should be comfortable in carrying out. The methods of delivery of teaching and assessment across pathology disciplines have evolved and adapted to recent circumstances. Lessons have been learned and insights gained during the COVID-19 pandemic as educators have risen to the challenge of continuing to educate medical students. Integrated and multi-disciplinary teaching is recommended to reflect best the professional environment of the medical graduate who works as an integral part of a multi-disciplinary team, with the minimum dependence on the traditional lecture, where at all possible. Finally, options on assessment are discussed, e.g. multiple-choice questions, including their respective advantages and disadvantages.


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