WhatsApp for Teaching Pathology Postgraduates: A Pilot Study

Postgraduate students spend a sizeable proportion of their time on social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook. This change in our social interaction needs to be accommodated in our teaching methods. To engage them and arouse their curiosity, WhatsApp is an ideal platform. Digital photography by cell phone cameras has made it possible to share cases and discuss them with students round the clock.

The primary aim of the study was to develop sharing and discussion of images using WhatsApp. It also aimed at gathering feedback by means of a questionnaire from pathology residents about their views about the use of WhatsApp for teaching purpose.

A WhatsApp group by the name "Pathology on the Go" was created with the authors of this study as group administrators and all junior and senior resident doctors (69) as members. The group was used to discuss interesting cases, quiz questions, and other pathology-related academic issues. At the end of 4 weeks, a questionnaire was distributed among the members, and feedback was sought regarding their experience in the group.

Over a 4-week period, 16 cases were discussed with 647 posts. A total of 45 participants out of 69 were active participants, and they had an average of 14 posts over the 4-week period. Majority of the participants found the discussions very useful with minimal disruption of the daily routine.

There is a need to incorporate Web 2.0 tools such as WhatsApp in our teaching methods to capture as much screen time of the students as possible.