Raiman Lewis, Antbring Richard, Mahmood Asad
Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Rd, London, E1 4NS, UK.
BMC Med Educ. 2017 Jan 6;17(1):7. doi: 10.1186/s12909-017-0855-x.
Instant messaging applications have the potential to improve and facilitate communication between hospital doctors and students, hence generating and improving learning opportunities. This study aims to demonstrate the feasibility and acceptability of instant messaging communication to supplement medical education for medical students whilst on clinical attachment.
A total of 6 WhatsApp Messenger (WhatsApp Inc.) groups were created for medical students on clinical attachment. These were used to provide communication within Problem Based Learning (PBL) groups for a duration of 8 weeks. The frequency and type of communication were recorded. Students' opinions were evaluated through a structured interview process at the end of the study period. A thematic analysis was performed on the content of the instant messaging groups and on the results of the structured interviews.
All of the participants were active in their respective messaging groups (19 students and 6 tutors). A total of 582 messages, 22 images and 19 webpage links were sent. Thematic analysis on content of the instant messaging groups identified the following themes: organisational, educational and social. Thematic analysis on the content of interviews identified themes such as the ease of use of instant messaging, benefit of instant messaging to foster understanding and learning, and the ability to access recorded discussions.
The findings of this study illustrate a method by which communication within PBL groups can be facilitated by the use of instant messaging. The results indicate the feasibility and acceptability of WhatsApp Messenger in supplementing PBL teaching for medical students, and provides a framework for studies to investigate use amongst larger cohorts of students.
即时通讯应用程序有潜力改善并促进医院医生与学生之间的沟通，从而创造并增加学习机会。本研究旨在证明即时通讯在医学生临床实习期间辅助医学教育的可行性和可接受性。
为临床实习的医学生创建了6个WhatsApp Messenger（WhatsApp公司）群组。这些群组用于在基于问题的学习（PBL）小组内进行为期8周的交流。记录交流的频率和类型。在研究期结束时，通过结构化访谈过程评估学生的意见。对即时通讯群组的内容和结构化访谈的结果进行了主题分析。
所有参与者都在各自的消息群组中很活跃（19名学生和6名导师）。共发送了582条消息、22张图片和19个网页链接。对即时通讯群组内容的主题分析确定了以下主题：组织、教育和社交。对访谈内容的主题分析确定了诸如即时通讯的易用性、即时通讯对促进理解和学习的益处以及获取记录讨论的能力等主题。
本研究结果说明了一种通过使用即时通讯来促进PBL小组内交流的方法。结果表明WhatsApp Messenger在辅助医学生PBL教学方面的可行性和可接受性，并为研究更大规模学生群体中的使用情况提供了框架。
