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Abstract
Background: Despite the proclivity and proliferation of blogs on the Internet, the use of blogs at medical institutions is not well documented.
Aims: In examining the structured stories that medical students share with the digital community, we may better understand how students use institutional blogs to discuss their medical school experiences while maintaining their role as a medical student ambassador for the program.
Methods: We conducted a case study to analyze the stories within 309 medical student blogs from one medical institution in the United States.
Results: In an attempt to communicate their experiences to different benefactors, student bloggers engaged in structured and personal storytelling. Structured stories offered medical school advice to prospective students, while personal stories embodied features of a personal diary where students recounted significant milestones, talked about personal relationships and engaged in emotional reflection and disclosure.
Conclusion: Institutional blogs may provide social marketing for medical institutions, as students strategically framed their experiences to reflect a positive attitude about the medical institution and focused on providing advice to prospective students. Although these structured stories limit complete disclosure, students may still achieve benefits by engaging in emotional disclosure and personal reflection.
Declaration of interest: We have no declarations of interest to report.