Recognizing the role of YouTube in medical education

Abstract

YouTube is a popular source of educational and recreational videos. Evidence suggests that medical students consult YouTube regularly and use it to supplement information they receive from their medical educators. On the other hand, some medical educators discourage and even avoid YouTube and other internet sources due to ethical concerns. In this paper we assess the importance of YouTube in medical education and relate this to other fields of higher education. Emphasis is placed on how YouTube can be an important tool for self-paced learning and encourages its ethical use. Conclusions from the paper have implications for medical educators, medical curriculum developers and students. For educators, the paper recommends ways to address ethical concerns. Designers of medical education curriculum are advised to include information literacy training at the start of medical school. Students are encouraged to improve information literacy as a control mechanism against inaccurate information.