Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 11, 2026
08:11
Surgical Training for the Implantation of Neocortical Microelectrode Arrays Using a Formaldehyde-fixed Human Cadaver Model
Published on: November 19, 2017
11.9K
Social Media in Surgical Training: Opportunities and Risks
Sander Ovaere1, David D E Zimmerman2, Richard R Brady3
1General Surgery Training Program, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Belgian Association of Surgical Trainees.
Journal of Surgical Education
|May 7, 2018
Summary
Social media offers significant opportunities for surgical training, research, and networking. However, awareness of potential risks and the need for professional guidelines are crucial for effective integration.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Surgical Training
- Digital Health
Background:
- Surgeon engagement with social media platforms is rapidly increasing.
- Innovative healthcare applications leveraging social media are becoming more prevalent.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current and future applications of social media in surgical training.
- To analyze risks and barriers associated with social media use in surgery.
- To provide recommendations for professional social media engagement for surgeons and trainees.
Main Methods:
- A review of published, peer-reviewed literature on social media in medicine, surgery, and surgical training.
- Utilized Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms including "social media", "education", "surgical training", and "web applications".
Main Results:
- Social media tools like e-learning, podcasts, live surgery platforms, and microblogs are available for teaching but underutilized in trainee curricula.
- Social media facilitates global research collaborations and patient recruitment for clinical trials.
- Networking platforms (e.g., LinkedIn, Facebook, Sermo) are increasingly important; however, risks like lack of peer review and source confirmation require consideration.
Conclusions:
- Social media presents substantial opportunities to enhance surgical training, research, and professional networking.
- Raising awareness regarding the risks associated with social media use is essential.
- Professional associations should develop and disseminate guidelines for social media standards in surgery.
Related Concept Videos
02:10Social Scripts
10.3K
People tend to know what behavior is expected of them in specific, familiar settings. A script is a person’s knowledge about the sequence of events expected in a specific setting (Schank & Abelson, 1977). Essentially, scripts are a particular kind of schema, one containing default values for the features within an event. In the restaurant example, the script's features include the props (e.g., tables, menu, food, and money), the roles to be played (e.g., customer and waiter),...
10.3K
00:52Social Proof
32.4K
Social proof is a form of persuasion based on comparison and conformity. People compare their behavior and actions to what others are doing and will change to conform to do what their peers do.
32.4K
01:41Social Traps
26.9K
Social traps are negative situations where people get caught in a direction or relationship that later proves to be unpleasant, with no easy way to back out of or avoid. The concept was orignally introduced by John Platt who applied psychology to Garrett Hardin's "Tragedy of the Commons", where in New England herd owners could let their cattle graze in the common ground. This situation seems like a good idea, but an individual could have an advantage. If they owned...
26.9K
01:04Social Facilitation
36.6K
Not all intergroup interactions lead to negative outcomes. Sometimes, being in a group situation can improve performance. Social facilitation occurs when an individual performs better when an audience is watching than when the individual performs the behavior alone. This typically occurs when people are performing a task for which they are skilled.
36.6K
01:37Social Loafing
39.7K
Another way in which a group presence can affect performance is social loafing—the exertion of less effort by a person working together with a group. Social loafing occurs when our individual performance cannot be evaluated separately from the group. Thus, group performance declines on easy tasks (Karau & Williams, 1993). Essentially individual group members loaf and let other group members pick up the slack. Because each individual’s efforts cannot be evaluated,...
39.7K
02:06Social Exchange Theory
40.8K
We have discussed why we form relationships, what attracts us to others, and different types of love. But what determines whether we are satisfied with and stay in a relationship? One theory that provides an explanation is social exchange theory. According to social exchange theory, we act as naïve economists in keeping a tally of the ratio of costs and benefits of forming and maintaining a relationship with others (Rusbult & Van Lange, 2003).
40.8K