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Social Media and Free Open Access Medical (FOAM) Education

  • Surgical Education (S. Tisherman, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Surgery Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Narrative review of free open access medical education (FOAM) and its effects on the medical community including, but not limited to, medical societies, residency curricula, patient care guidelines, and medical journals. This review will inform the reader of the positive effects and potential controversies of FOAM.

Recent Findings

Online medical education has revolutionized the way medical personnel access information through several platforms including blogs, podcasts, social networking, and media sharing sites. These have received mixed reviews in terms of efficiency, reliability, professionalism, ethics, and confidentiality.

Summary

Since its creation, FOAM has had a dramatic impact on the medical community. Despite the current mixed reviews, its popularity continues to rise among medical professionals. This popularity will enrich future literature reviews and can help guide the medical community in understanding, modifying, and potentially developing policies that benefit clinicians and patients alike.

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References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. VCU Surgery Trauma, Critical Care and Emergency Surgery, Virginia Commonwealth University, PO Box 980454, West Hospital, 15th Floor, East Wing 1200 E. Broad St., Richmond, VA, 23298, USA

    Raquel Weston & Paula Ferrada

  2. University of Florida College of Medicine, Jacksonville, FL, USA

    Marie Crandall

Authors
  1. Raquel Weston
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  2. Marie Crandall
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  3. Paula Ferrada
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paula Ferrada.

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Conflict of interest

Raquel Weston, Marie Crandall, and Paula Ferrada declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

This article is part of the Topical collection on Surgical Education.

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Weston, R., Crandall, M. & Ferrada, P. Social Media and Free Open Access Medical (FOAM) Education. Curr Surg Rep 7, 4 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40137-019-0224-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40137-019-0224-2

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