Podcasting: A Roadmap to the Future of Medical Education

Podcasts, portable digital audio files that usually are listened to on a smartphone or MP3 player, have become a potent medium for medical education. Medical podcasting has become more sophisticated over the past decade as the producers of this material experiment and adapt the format. At the same time, production of podcasting has shifted from being a part of traditional medical educational venues such as journals and medical school curricula to organic digital education, individuals operating outside of, or parallel to, the traditional medical educational system. The past several years have seen increasing attempts to evaluate and organize podcasting material into vibrant educational resources. This article describes the history of podcasts, prior work on its efficacy in medical education, research directions for the future, and a vision of a global podcasting curriculum.