Widespread use of internet, applications, and social media in the professional life of urology residents

Online surgical education adopted among urology residency programs in response to COVID-19: A pilot study

OBJECTIVE

To understand the residents' perceptions of the, COVID-19 driven, newly implemented online learning systems adopted among accredited urology residency programs nationwide, and their sustainability following the pandemic era.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A survey was designed and dispersed to urology program coordinators and directors to distribute to their residents. In the survey, Online education models was the all-encompassing term to describe any form of resident education that occurred online. Anonymous surveys were exported from Survey Monkey and data was analyzed for statistical significance.

RESULTS

Over 70% of urology residents agreed or were neutral to the statement that Online education models were equivalent to in-person learning. Only 13% of residents stated that online learning should not be continued following the pandemic. Several different parameters were assessed, and only 5 of them showed statistical significance. Stress, personal engagement, interpersonal communication efficiency and non-verbal cues were all lower with online education models. The only attribute that was scored higher by residents was network connectivity issues.

CONCLUSIONS

An overwhelming majority of urology residents in the United States believe Online education models should continue to be adopted once the pandemic is over.

LA EDUCACIÓN QUIRÚRGICA EN LÍNEA IMPLEMENTADA EN LOS PROGRAMAS DE RESIDENCIA UROLÓGICA COMO RESPUESTA AL COVID-19: ESTUDIO PILOTO

Objetivo

Comprender la percepción de los residentes respecto a los sistemas de aprendizaje en línea, los cuales, impulsados por la pandemia de la COVID-19, han sido recientemente implementados a nivel nacional en los programas de residencia urológica acreditados. Adicionalmente, nos proponemos analizar su sostenibilidad tras la era de la pandemia.

Material y métodos

Se diseñó una encuesta para, a través de los coordinadores y directores de programas de urología, difundirla a los residentes de urología.

En la encuesta, los modelos de educación en línea englobaron cualquier forma de educación recibida por los residentes que se diera en línea. Las encuestas anónimas se exportaron de Survey Monkey y se analizaron los datos para determinar la significación estadística.

Resultados

Más del 70% de los residentes de urología estuvieron de acuerdo, o mostraron una actitud neutral, ante la afirmación de que los modelos de educación en línea eran equivalentes al aprendizaje presencial. Solo el 13% de los residentes afirmaron que el aprendizaje en línea no debería continuar tras la pandemia. Se evaluaron diversos parámetros, y solo 5 de ellos mostraron significación estadística. El estrés, el compromiso personal, la eficacia de la comunicación interpersonal y las señales no verbales fueron más bajos para los modelos de educación en línea. El único aspecto al que los residentes dieron mayor puntuación fue el de los problemas de conectividad a una red.

Conclusiones

La gran mayoría de los residentes de urología en Estados Unidos cree que los modelos de educación en línea deben mantenerse una vez terminada la pandemia.

[Acceptance and status of digitalization in clinics and practices : Current assessment in German urology]

BACKGROUND

Digitalization of patient documentation and introduction of the electronic patient record (ePA) pose challenges to everyday clinical practice.

OBJECTIVES

We investigated the acceptance and status of the digitalization of patient data and the introduction of the ePA among German urologists.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A questionnaire with 30 questions about the acceptance and status of digitalization of patient documentation and ePA was sent out via the newsletter of the German Society of Urology.

RESULTS

A total of 80 urologists participated in the survey (response rate 2%). Digital platforms such as Urotube or Researchgate are used by 63% of participants. The complete implementation of digital patient documentation was reported by 72% of respondents working in medical practice and by 54% of those working in the hospital (p = 0.042). While 76% see the digitalization process as reasonable, 34% expressed partial or strong concerns about the complete digitalization of patient documentation. Only 14% of the participants offer video consultations. Advantages for ePA include better networking of the healthcare system (73%), improved diagnosis, indication (41%) and treatment quality (48%), and avoidance of medication errors (70%).

CONCLUSION

German urologists are open to the digitalization process and ePA. Especially younger urologists are using digital media. The advantages of digitalization are, in particular, an improvement in treatment processes. For a smooth introduction, a cross-departmental establishment and, if necessary, an adaptation of the treatment processes are necessary.

Preserving professional identities, behaviors, and values in digital professionalism using social networking sites; a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Despite a rapid rise of use of social media in medical disciplines, uncertainty prevails among healthcare professionals for providing medical content on social media. There are also growing concerns about unprofessional behaviors and blurring of professional identities that are undermining digital professionalism. This review tapped the literature to determine the impact of social media on medical professionalism and how can professional identities and values be maintained in digital era.

METHODS

We searched the databases of PubMed, ProQuest, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and EBSCO host using (professionalism AND (professionalism OR (professional identity) OR (professional behaviors) OR (professional values) OR (professional ethics))) AND ((social media) AND ((social media) OR (social networking sites) OR Twitter OR Facebook)) AND (health professionals). The research questions were based on sample (health professionals), phenomenon of interest (digital professionalism), design, evaluation and research type. We screened initial yield of titles using pre-determined inclusion and exclusion criteria and selected a group of articles for qualitative analysis. We used the Biblioshiny® software package for the generation of popular concepts as clustered keywords.

RESULTS

Our search yielded 44 articles with four leading themes; marked rise in the use of social media by healthcare professionals and students, negative impact of social media on digital professionalism, blurring of medical professional values, behaviors, and identity in the digital era, and limited evidence for teaching and assessing digital professionalism. A high occurrence of violation of patient privacy, professional integrity and cyberbullying were identified. Our search revealed a paucity of existing guidelines and policies for digital professionalism that can safeguard healthcare professionals, students and patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Our systematic review reports a significant rise of unprofessional behaviors in social media among healthcare professionals. We could not identify the desired professional behaviors and values essential for digital identity formation. The boundaries between personal and professional practices are mystified in digital professionalism. These findings call for potential educational ramifications to resurrect professional virtues, behaviors and identities of healthcare professionals and students.

#AUAMatch: The Impact of COVID-19 on Social Media Use in the Urology Residency Match

OBJECTIVES

To examine changes in Social Media (SoMe) use among urology residency applicants before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

We distributed surveys to individuals who applied to our residency program for application cycles ending in 2018, 2019, and 2021. The surveys included questions about applicants' SoMe use and perceptions of programs' SoMe use during the application process, both before (2018/2019) and after (2021) the COVID-19 pandemic. The primary outcome was SoMe use for professional purposes.

RESULTS

We received survey responses from 33% (162 of 496) and 29% (84 of 294) of applicants from the 2018/2019 and 2021 cohorts, respectively. There was a significant increase in professional SoMe use in the 2021 cohort (80%) compared with the 2018/2019 cohort (44%) (P < .001). In 2021 compared to 2018/2019, more applicants used SoMe to connect directly with residents (69% vs 34%, P < .001) and with faculty members (65% vs 15%, P < .001). Applicants in 2021 compared to 2018/2019 more often found SoMe to be useful for making decisions about applying to (33% vs 10%), interviewing at (26% vs 7%), and ranking programs (20% vs 9%) (all P < .05). Twitter was the most common platform for applicants to access program information, increasing from 38% to 71%.

CONCLUSION

The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a period of unprecedented SoMe usage among urology applicants, who used it to learn about and connect with residency programs in new ways. The use of SoMe by residency programs has become an important component of trainee recruitment and is likely to continue in the future.

Are We Witnessing a Paradigm Shift?: A Systematic Review of Social Media in Residency

As social media's applications continue to evolve, the pitfalls and dangers associated with misuse have been accentuated in the literature. Consequently, academic institutions across the nation have implemented social media policies. This study is aimed to evaluate the state of social media literature examining postgraduate trainees (residents/fellows).

METHODS

A systematic search was performed identifying peer-reviewed publications presenting original research. Studies published through December 8, 2018, focusing on social media use among postgraduate trainees were considered for inclusion.

RESULTS

Fifty-three studies were categorized into 4 domains: (1) resident recruitment, (2) graduate medical education, (3) professional development, and (4) academic scholarship. Thirty-four (64.15%) investigated social media's impact on professional development, of which 16 (47.05%) highlighted the detrimental potential on trainee professionalism. The remaining 18 (52.94%) focused on promoting social media training during residency, and/or enhancing social media competency to benefit professional development. Fourteen (26.42%) rationalized social media use in augmenting graduate medical education. Ten (18.87%) assessed social media's influence on resident recruitment, of which 7 (70%) depicted use as a screening instrument for program directors on resident applicants. Two (3.77%) of the studies introduced social media as a platform for academic scholarship with indicators as altmetrics.

CONCLUSIONS

The well-established disadvantages of social media use by the postgraduate trainee continue to persist in the literature. However, there is recognition of social media as a valuable resource in influencing resident recruitment, graduate medical education, professional development, and academic scholarship, representing a paradigm shift-from cautiously avoidant to thoughtful capitalization on its immense potential.

A new wave of urologists? Graduating urology residents' practices of and attitudes toward social media

INTRODUCTION

Social media (SoMe) have revolutionized healthcare, but physicians remain hesitant to adopt SoMe in their practices. We sought to assess graduating urology residents' practices of and attitudes toward SoMe.

METHODS

A close-ended questionnaire, employing five-point Likert scales, was distributed to all final-year residents (n=100) in Canadian urology training programs in 2012, 2014, and 2016 to assess SoMe usage and perceived usefulness.

RESULTS

All (100%) questionnaires were completed. Respondents frequently used online services for personal (100%) and professional (96%) purposes. Most (92%) used SoMe. Many (73%) frequently used SoMe for personal purposes, but few (12%) frequently used SoMe for professional purposes. While a majority (59%) opposed direct patient interaction online, most supported using SoMe to provide patients with static information (76%) and collaborate with colleagues (65%). Many (70-73%) were optimistic that novel solutions to privacy issues in online communications will arise, making SoMe and email contact with patients conceivable. Few (2-8%) were aware and had read guidelines and legislations regarding physician online practices; however, awareness of medical associations' and institutional SoMe policies significantly increased over time (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Despite their active online use, graduating urology residents rarely used SoMe in professional settings and were wary of using it in patient care. Nevertheless, they were optimistic toward its integration in urology and supported its use in physician-physician communication. Considering SoMe's increased influence on urology and graduating residents' limited awareness of guidelines and legislations, postgraduate medical educators should encourage residents to become more familiar with current online communication recommendations.

Mapping the landscape of urology: A new media-based cross-sectional analysis of public versus academic interest

OBJECTIVES

To quantify public and academic interest in the urological field using a novel new media-based methodology.

METHODS

We systematically measured public and academic interest in 56 urological keywords and combined in nine subspecialties. Public interest was quantified as video views on YouTube. Academic interest was quantified as article citations using Microsoft Academic Search. The public-to-academic interest ratio was calculated for a comparison of subspecialties as well as for diseases and treatments.

RESULTS

For the selected 56 urological keywords, we found 226 617 591 video views on YouTube and 2 146 287 citations in the academic literature. The public-to-academic interest ratio was highest for the subspecialties robotic urology (ratio 6.3) and andrological urology (ratio 4.6). Prostate cancer was the central urological disease combining both a high public (20% of all video views) and academic interest (26% of all citations, ratio 0.8). Further diseases/treatments of high public interest were premature ejaculation (ratio 54.4), testicular cancer (ratio 11.4), erectile dysfunction (ratio 5.5) and kidney transplant (ratio 3.7). Urological treatments had a higher public-to-academic interest ratio (median ratio 0.25) than diseases (median ratio 0.05; P = 0.029).

CONCLUSIONS

A quantification of academic and public interest in the urological field is feasible using a novel new media-based methodology. We found several mismatches in public versus academic interest in urological diseases and treatments, which has implications for research strategies, conference planning and patient information projects. Regular re-assessments of the public and academic interest landscape can contribute to detecting and proving trends in the field of urology.