Free Open Access Medical Education (FOAMed) use in medical students: a literature review

Free Open Access Medical Education (FOAMed) is an emergent phenomenon within medical education. The rise of FOAMed resources has meant that medical education needs no longer be confined to the lecture theatre or the hospital setting, but rather, can be produced and shared amongst any individual or group with access to internet and a suitable device. This study presents a review of the use of FOAMed resources by students as part of their university medical education.

A literature search of terms relevant to the topic of FOAMed use by medical students was completed and reviewed. The included results were subsequently analysed and categorised through qualitative analysis.

The increasingly digital cohort of medical students, fitting into the Gen Z and millennial generations, are generations that have taken strongly to FOAMed resources (Toohey et al., Western J Emerg Med 337-343, 2016, Shorey et al., Nurse Educ Pract 57:103247, 2021), with many of their learning styles being applicable to the methods of study that students were faced with in the online-heavy medical curriculums due to the COVID-19 pandemic (Marshall and Wolanskyj-Spinner, Mayo Clinc Proceedings 95:1135-7, 2020). However, despite the increasing use of FOAMed resources by these students, observed university study recommendations fail to recommend or integrate these resources into the curriculum. This review presents an exploration of the use of FOAMed resources by students as part of their university medical education.

This literature review found that students are increasingly utilising FOAMed as an integral part of their medical education, demonstrating self-determined learning. However, most of the literature on this topic is of the descriptive type, with little literature available on how universities are incorporating this form of student learning into the formal curriculum.