Leveraging social media for medical education: Learning from patients in online spaces

Abstract

Social media has applications for teaching, learning, and patient involvement in medical education. It has the potential to eliminate hierarchies in educational interactions, thereby allowing patients to communicate, collaborate, and share information with learners. This commentary suggests that we should consider patients as experts who are available on social media platforms and can therefore play a role in medical education. Specifically, it highlights how patients can serve as teachers in social media-based medical education and how patients’ narratives and experiences volunteered in online spaces can help cultivate patient-centred care practices. This article aims to explore how medical students, residents, and practicing physicians can learn from patients on social media and the implications of this learning on medical education more broadly.

Keywords:

• Social media
• medical education
• patient-centred care
• teaching
• learning

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Catherine M. Giroux

Catherine M. Giroux is a PhD Candidate in Health Professions Education at the University of Ottawa.

Katherine A. Moreau

Katherine A. Moreau, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario.