Dr. Meeks is from the Department of Dermatology, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio. Mrs. McGuire is from the Department of Dermatology, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk. Dr. Carroll is from the Department of Dermatology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pennsylvania.
The authors report no conflict of interest.
The study data were presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association of Professors of Dermatology; September 12-13, 2014; Chicago, Illinois.
Correspondence: Bryan T. Carroll, MD, PhD, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Department of Dermatology, 3601 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 (Carrollbt@upmc.edu).
Use of Online Educational Materials and Interest in Collaboration
A majority of faculty and residents stated that they use online educational materials as supplements to traditional classroom lecture and print materials (81% vs 86%); however, almost twice as many residents stated that online educational materials were essential to their current study routines compared to faculty (39% vs 21%).
The majority of faculty (92%) and residents (84%) were either interested or very interested in a collaborative online curriculum. Both residents (85%) and faculty (81%) stated they would be likely to seek out online educational materials shared by top educators. Although both residents and faculty reported many aspects of their curriculums they thought could be beneficial to other dermatology programs (Table 1), only 27% of faculty and 19% of residents were likely to translate those strengths into a shareable electronic format. Several reasons were reported for not contributing to an online curriculum, with lack of time being the most common reason (Table 2).
Eighty percent of residents and 88% of faculty reported they were either interested or very interested in being more connected/interactive with their dermatology peers nationally (Figure 2). Likewise, 94% of residents and 87% of faculty agreed that the dermatology community could benefit from a social networking site for educational collaboration. Four times as many residents versus faculty currently use social networking sites (eg, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Groups) as a primary mode of communication with distant professional peers. The majority of residents (52%) reported they would be likely to participate in a professional social networking site, while the majority of faculty (50%) stated they were neutral on their likelihood of participating. Both residents and faculty reported lack of time as a common reason for being unlikely to utilize a professional social networking site. Other barriers to participation are listed in Table 3.
Figure 2. Responses of dermatology residents and faculty regarding their interest in online collaboration, professional communication, and social networking within the specialty.
