Disruption in medical education — Teaching the teachers via social media?

Everyone agrees that doctors should be informed and up-to-date. Perpetual medical education has always been a vital component of doctoring. But now, as the rapid pace of healthcare innovation pushes against the limits of biology, and really, our humanity, medical education gains even more importance. Doctors (and patients) must know what can and cannot be accomplished. We must know the evidence. And these days, evidence pours in. Doctors are essentially teachers, and thus, a central question in medical education parallels that in regular education: What is the best means for teaching the teachers? I’ve written before that disruption in med-ed is coming soon, via social media. It seems like a bold statement, but then there is Sal Kahn and Dr. Mike Evans. I recently came across a blog post in the British Medical Journal that validates my thesis: Social media is indeed a new brand of medical education. Background: Currently, there are two legacy models of medical education, and both have come under intense, and in my opinion, deserved, criticism. The CME (or continuing medical education) model has taken criticism for its conflicts of interest with industry. These are legitimate concerns, and examples of folly abound. Look no further than dronedarone. An argument can be made that a major deficit in today’s model of medical information transfer comes in the form of irrational exuberance from conflicted sources–e.g. marketing hype. The good news is that industry ...
Source: Dr John M - Category: Cardiology Authors: Source Type: blogs