Beyond the Hype: A Scoping Review of TikTok's Potential and Pitfalls in Clinical Education

Multimedia, including TikTok, is increasingly predominant for asynchronous and synchronous learning. This scoping review aimed to determine the role of TikTok for clinical education, including assessment of learning benefits, limitations, accessibility, acceptability and feasibility.

We conducted a scoping review following Joanna Briggs Institute's (JBI) guidelines. Literature eligibility criteria included any literature discussing TikTok for clinical education. Findings were narratively synthesised on a bespoke data collection tool and analysed.

This review highlighted both strengths and risks relating to TikTok for clinical education. Identified strengths included benefits for student engagement and enjoyment from learning, improving accessibility and acceptability of learning content and opportunities for advocacy and outreach. The scope of educational opportunities included direct learning of clinical information, academic discourse and dissemination and professional networking. Learning benefits related to integrative multimedia pedagody and reduction of learner cognitive load, which optimised the learning potential from content viewed. Benefits detailed were predominantly conceptual, with a lack of studies analysing TikTok educational use and risk of bias from studies high. Risks and challenges relating to TikTok were notable, including cybersecurity, misinformation, addiction and exploitation risks from social media use, as well as a lack of professional guidance and legislation.

While TikTok has potential, its integration into clinical education remains limited by risks. Ethical considerations limit the feasibility and justifiability of learner and educator use. Without formal legislation, governance, resource provision and training, the use of TikTok by clinical educators is practically unrealistic and offers unacceptable educational, academic, personal and professional risks to both learners and educators.