Facebook could help with critical care ultrasound education
Facebook may be a viable method for implementing a critical care ultrasound (CCUS) curriculum, according to research to be presented at CHEST 2018, the annual meeting for the American College of Chest Physicians. Researchers say it provides benefits such as spaced learning, active participation and an informal, personal learning environment,
“CCUS is an important skill for all critical care physicians to understand,” wrote first author Shiqian Li, PhD, of the University of Helsinki in Finland, and colleagues. “However, currently there is no standard approach to how to teach CCUS.”
Li and colleagues sought to investigate the feasibility of implementing a CCUS curriculum through a social media platform to evaluate its impact on fellows’ self-perceived competency.
The researchers utilized fellows from the University of Southern California pulmonary and critical care department as their study cohort. The fellows were provided with a standard CCUS curriculum and a pre-knowledge and skills assessment. Post-assessment, the fellows participated in a 2-day, hands-on boot camp.
They were invited to join a private CCUS Facebook group that provided them with 41 core skills divided into five systems, delivered over 20 weeks. The Facebook posts included quizzes, case studies, images, movies and management-type questions, along with links to web pages and articles.
The researchers measured Facebook analytics and found less than half of the fellow participated in the group—30 percent of first year, 40 percent of second year and 20 percent of third year fellows. The researchers found:
- The average number of posts viewed by a fellow was 24 out of 41 posts.
- Almost 90 percent of the fellows responded to the post-intervention survey.
- 44 percent of fellows stated they would participate in a Facebook education group again.
- 56 percent of fellows stated the Facebook group enhanced their CCUS education.
- 44 percent of fellows stated the Facebook group motivated them to learn more.
“We believe that Facebook is a viable method for implementing a CCUS curriculum,” Li said in a prepared statement issued by the American College of Chest Physicians. “The fact that most of the fellows stated that the content was useful and had enhanced their education and some of the fellows stated that it motivated them to learn more further shows that Facebook and social media may be a beneficial adjunct for different types of learners."
As a senior news writer for TriMed, Subrata covers cardiology, clinical innovation and healthcare business. She has a master’s degree in communication management and 12 years of experience in journalism and public relations.