Survey of Social Media Use for Surgical Education During Covid-19

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the use of social media platforms by medical students, surgical trainees, and practicing surgeons for surgical education during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Methods: An online, 15-question survey was developed and posted on Facebook and WhatsApp closed surgeon groups.

Results: The online survey was completed by 219 participants from South America (87%), North America (7%), Europe (5%), Central America, and Asia. Respondents included medical students (6.4%), surgical residents/fellows (24.2%), and practicing surgeons (69.4%). The most common age group was 35-44 years. When asked which social media platforms they preferred, the video sharing site YouTube (33.3%), the messaging app WhatsApp (21%), and "other" (including videoconferencing sites) (22.3%) were most popular. Respondents reported using social media for surgical education either daily (38.4%) or weekly (45.2%), for an average of 1-5 hours/week. Most (85%) opined that surgical conferences that were cancelled during the pandemic should be made available online, with live discussions.

Conclusion: Social media use for surgical education during Covid-19 appears to be increasing and evolving.

Keywords: Covid-19; Medical education; Medical students; Pandemic; Resident; Social media; Surgical education; Virtual learning.