Online Learning for Infectious Disease Fellows—A Needs Assessment

Abstract

Background Online resources and social media have become increasingly ubiquitous in medical education. Little is known about the need for educational resources aimed at Infectious Disease (ID) fellows. Methods We conducted an educational needs assessment through a survey that aimed to describe ID fellows’ current use of online and social media tools, assess the value of online learning, and identify the educational content preferred by ID fellows. We subsequently convened focus groups with ID fellows to explore how digital tools contribute to fellow learning. Results A total of 110 ID fellows responded to the survey: over half were second year fellows (61; 55%). Although many respondents were satisfied with the educational resources provided by their fellowship program (70; 64%), the majority were interested in an online collaborative educational resource (97, 88%). Twitter was the most popular social media platform for education and the most valued online resource for learning. Focus groups identified several themes regarding social medial learning: broadened community, low barrier to learning, technology-enhanced learning, and limitations of current tools. Overall, the focus groups suggest that fellows value social media and online learning. Conclusions ID fellows are currently using online and social media resources, which they view as valuable educational tools. Fellowship programs should consider these resources as complementary to traditional teaching and a means to augment ID fellow education.

Impact of the Febrile Podcast and Learning Resource as an Infectious Diseases Education Platform

“…Infographics were used to teach on the fly or during rounds in most cases, but other methods, such as inclusion in didactic materials, were described as well. Febrile has been noted in previous publications as a well-received multimedia project for ID learners [ 1 , 11 , 24 ].…”

“…Surveys of US internal and emergency medicine residents showed that 60%–80% of trainees are using educational podcasts on a weekly or monthly basis, and more than a third of infectious diseases (ID) fellows are commonly using online resources like websites and podcasts at least once a week as complements to traditional teaching [ 9–11 ]. When asked what online-based resources they are most likely to use, 55% of ID fellows selected podcasts, a proportion that was exceeded only by access to online board questions (77%) [ 11 ]. Trainees have identified benefits such as ease of use, lower barrier to learning, an engaging format, broad content exposure, and the ability to foster connection to their peers and the larger professional community [ 11–13 ].…”

“…When asked what online-based resources they are most likely to use, 55% of ID fellows selected podcasts, a proportion that was exceeded only by access to online board questions (77%) [ 11 ]. Trainees have identified benefits such as ease of use, lower barrier to learning, an engaging format, broad content exposure, and the ability to foster connection to their peers and the larger professional community [ 11–13 ]. Podcasts have been similarly adopted by those beyond training and within other health disciplines as a flexible form of continuing medical education (CME) [ 4 , 14 ].…”

The ID Digital Institute: Building a digital education toolset and community

“…ID trainees are already frequently learning from digital resources and have expressed interest in additional online resources. 28,29 Responses from the 2020 American Society of Transplantation Education Needs Assessment Survey demonstrated that many in the transplant and TID community feel they would learn best from various digital modalities (including 31% selecting video broadcasts, 9% podcasts, 8% web apps, and 3% social media). 30,31 This manuscript highlights the structure, content, and lessons learned from the ongoing IDDI program, as well as how the program can align with current and future TID education efforts.…”

Adoption and Utilization of Social Media Among Adult and Pediatric Infectious Diseases Divisions and Fellowship Programs in the United States

“…Twitter and Instagram have been identified as being utilized in ID [ 8–10 ]. An educational needs assessment survey of 110 ID fellows found that 55% used Twitter at least weekly and found it valuable for learning, whereas Facebook and Instagram were seen as having almost no value for learning for 56% and 53% of those surveyed [ 12 ]. Although there are many possible benefits to utilizing social media in healthcare education and communication [ 13 ], detailed descriptions of SoMe adoption and utilization have not been well characterized among adult and pediatric ID programs.…”