The Use of Social Media in Orthopedic and Trauma Surgery Education: A Cross-Sectional Survey of German-Speaking Residents and Medical Students

Overview

Journal Healthcare (Basel)

Specialty Health Services

Date 2024 Oct 25

PMID 39451431

Authors

Sebastian Schmidt

Ali Darwich

Sebastian Leutheuser

Daniel Krahl

Luis Navas

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background/objectives: Social media has become a significant part of daily life, with platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp dominating usage. The COVID-19 pandemic further increased social media activity, including within the orthopedic community due to restrictions on physical gatherings. Despite the benefits of instant access to educational resources and interaction with experts, the lack of regulated editorial oversight on social media raises concerns about misinformation and privacy. This study aimed to evaluate the role of social media in orthopedic and trauma surgery education, focusing on platform use, user behavior, and engagement with educational content.

Methods: A web-based survey was distributed to 912 residents and 728 medical students from the German-speaking Association for Arthroscopy and Joint Surgery (AGA) between June and July 2022. The questionnaire included 21 items covering demographics, platform use, activity patterns, engagement with educational content, and concerns about privacy.

Results: Of the 339 respondents (129 medical students), 87% reported daily social media use, primarily via smartphones (93%). The most commonly used platforms were WhatsApp (84%), Instagram (68%), and YouTube (54%). About 26% of the content consumed was related to orthopedics or trauma surgery. While 70% engaged with specialist content by liking, commenting, or sharing, only 32% posted their own content. Additionally, 77% followed healthcare professionals or institutions, and 65% benefited from case presentations with images. Notably, 15% observed content that could violate patient privacy.

Conclusions: Orthopedic residents and students are high-volume social media users but engage more passively with professional content. While most value educational material, concerns about privacy violations and inappropriate posts remain prevalent.

References

LaGrant B, Navarro S, Becker J, Shaikh H, Sulapas I, Shybut T . Fellowship Training Is a Significant Predictor of Sports Medicine Physician Social Media Presence. Arthrosc Sports Med Rehabil. 2021; 3(1):e199-e204. PMC: 7879189. DOI: 10.1016/j.asmr.2020.09.010. View

Khalife M, Afifi M, Chatelain L, Finoco M, Guigui P, Ferrero E . Social media use among French spine surgeons: an underrated tool?. Neurochirurgie. 2023; 69(6):101499. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuchi.2023.101499. View

Justinia T, Alyami A, Al-Qahtani S, Bashanfar M, El-Khatib M, Yahya A . Social Media and the Orthopaedic Surgeon: a Mixed Methods Study. Acta Inform Med. 2019; 27(1):23-28. PMC: 6511278. DOI: 10.5455/aim.2019.27.23-28. View

McCormick J, Patel M, Hodakowski A, Rea P, Naik K, Cohn M . Social media use by shoulder and elbow surgeons increases the number of ratings on physician review websites. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2021; 30(12):e713-e723. DOI: 10.1016/j.jse.2021.06.018. View

Vadhera A, Verma J, Kunze K, McCormick J, Patel S, Lee J . Social Media Use Among Arthroscopic and Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Specialists Varies by Subspeciality. Arthrosc Sports Med Rehabil. 2023; 5(2):e349-e357. PMC: 10123443. DOI: 10.1016/j.asmr.2022.12.004. View

Steele T, Galarza-Paez L, Aguilo-Seara G, David L . Social media impact in the Match: A survey of current trends in the United States. Arch Plast Surg. 2021; 48(1):107-113. PMC: 7861983. DOI: 10.5999/aps.2020.00836. View

Narain A, Dhayalan A, Weinberg M, Latario L, Shuman M, Bango J . Social Media Utilization Among Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons. J Am Acad Orthop Surg. 2020; 29(3):123-130. DOI: 10.5435/JAAOS-D-20-00085. View

Feroe A, Only A, Murray J, Malin L, Mikhael N, Selley R . Use of Social Media in Orthopaedic Surgery Training and Practice: A Systematic Review. JB JS Open Access. 2024; 9(1). PMC: 10786589. DOI: 10.2106/JBJS.OA.23.00098. View

Randall Z, Ganapathy A, Kuhn A, Silverman R, Inclan P, Aleem A . Orthopaedic Surgery Training and Education During COVID-19: A Systematic Review. JB JS Open Access. 2023; 8(3). PMC: 10393081. DOI: 10.2106/JBJS.OA.23.00034. View

10.

Patro A, Landeen K, Stevens M, Cass N, Haynes D . The Digital Dilemma: Perspectives From Otolaryngology Residency Applicants on Social Media. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2021; 131(9):954-961. DOI: 10.1177/00034894211050625. View

11.

Malyavko A, Kim Y, Harmon T, Quan T, Gu A, Bernstein S . Utility of Social Media for Recruitment by Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Programs. JB JS Open Access. 2021; 6(3). PMC: 8423379. DOI: 10.2106/JBJS.OA.21.00076. View

12.

Call T, Hillock R . Professionalism, social media, and the Orthopaedic Surgeon: What do you have on the Internet?. Technol Health Care. 2017; 25(3):531-539. DOI: 10.3233/THC-171296. View

13.

Mohney S, Lee D, Elfar J . The Effect of Orthopedic Advertising and Self-Promotion on a Naïve Population. Am J Orthop (Belle Mead NJ). 2016; 45(4):E227-32. PMC: 5837027. View

14.

Yong T, Pappas M, Ray G, McManus T, Coe M . Analyzing the Proliferation of Social Media Use Among Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Programs. JB JS Open Access. 2021; 6(3). PMC: 8291354. DOI: 10.2106/JBJS.OA.21.00017. View

15.

LeDuc R, Lyons M, Riopelle D, Wu K, Schiff A . Social Media Utilization Trends in Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Programs During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Iowa Orthop J. 2021; 41(1):13-17. PMC: 8259205. View

16.

Irwin T, Riesel J, Amador R, Helliwell L, Lin S, Eberlin K . The Impact of Social Media on Plastic Surgery Residency Applicants. Ann Plast Surg. 2020; 86(3):335-339. DOI: 10.1097/SAP.0000000000002375. View

17.

Fuller C, Deckey D, Brinkman J, Tummala S, Lu P, Mishra N . General Surgery Residency Applicants' Perspective on Social Media as a Recruiting Tool. J Surg Educ. 2022; 79(6):1334-1341. DOI: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2022.06.003. View

18.

Sharma P, Meena S, Singh G, Rohilla R . Orthopaedic surgery and its allied associations on social media: an observational study. Arch Orthop Trauma Surg. 2021; 143(1):269-276. DOI: 10.1007/s00402-021-04052-2. View

19.

Schneider A, Tate J, Murphy M, Hamid K, Light T, Schiff A . The Characterization of Social Media in Orthopaedic Surgery: A Survey Study of 312 Residents and Applicants. JB JS Open Access. 2022; 7(2). PMC: 9049037. DOI: 10.2106/JBJS.OA.21.00159. View

20.

Sterling M, Leung P, Wright D, Bishop T . The Use of Social Media in Graduate Medical Education: A Systematic Review. Acad Med. 2017; 92(7):1043-1056. PMC: 5487290. DOI: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000001617. View