Using Social Media to Teach About and Engage Residents in Evidence-Based Medicine

Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is an important concept for family medicine and is part of several Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education milestones. Social media (SM) has become a cornerstone in most of our lives. Previous studies show the use of SM in medical education is expanding. The objective of this study is to use SM for medical education focusing on teaching EBM through an innovative, engaging video series.

This quasi-experimental study used pre- and postintervention surveys between May 2022 and June 2022 using the American Board of Family Medicine National Journal Club initiative as a foundation. A total of 196 residents and fellows from various family medicine residency programs were eligible to participate. Surveys consisted of SM usage, EBM engagement, EBM comfort and confidence adapted from a validated tool, and questions about the articles reviewed in the videos.

A total of 44 of 196 residents and fellows from various family medicine residency programs participated in the preintervention survey. Most participants identified learning about EBM through residency didactics. The most popular SM platforms were Instagram and YouTube for medical content. Participants were least comfortable on the 10-point scale for critically appraising study methods. Postintervention cumulative scores for knowledge about the journal articles increased from 64% to 85%.

The video series taught EBM concepts and were well received, albeit with a low postintervention response rate. These findings contribute to the evolving landscape of medical education with implications for improving the effectiveness of EBM teaching through SM platforms.