Categories
Anesthesia Education Business/Finances

#35 – Asynchronous learning and the future of anesthesia education

This podcast follows up on the previous show which discussed free open access medical education (FOAM) and the use of social media in anesthesia education. Here, I discuss the power of asynchronous learning to shape the future of anesthesia education.

The power of asynchronous learning comes from the ability of content experts to produce something truly informative and engaging once and then make that widely available to learners over a prolonged span of time. 

The opportunity, the chance, the potential of asynchronous learning is to harness the best educators and minds to create engaging content to help raise the level of expertise of providers while reducing the upfront workload and cost of producing that content.  

Asynchronous learning challenges traditional paradigms of education. It brings up numerous questions for us to consider…

Why does every university need to have an expert in pharmacology on campus to deliver semester-long courses on anesthesia pharmacology year after year? 

Why do universities struggle to find and retain content experts when they could harness the power of asynchronous education to share a library of the best resources for cheaper tuition?

Why do universities, who charge astronomical tuition fees, then require their students to purchase third-party board preparation programs?  Shouldn’t the tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in tuition be enough to get students successfully over the hurdle of boards?

Why are continuing education conferences so boring and expensive? 

Why do continuing education conferences rarely improve clinical skills or change practice? 

Why are thousands of grand rounds presentations given every year across the US and only a very select few individuals who happen to show up hear what leading experts are saying?

Why does it take on average 17 years for new evidence to find its way into widespread practice?

Why do we too often put profits ahead of advancing our field and improving access to patient care?

We have the opportunity to redesign the way we do education in the future.  Harnessing technology to maximize the benefit of asynchronous learning can reduce costs and likely make education more efficient and effective.

Some of you are today’s thought leaders and content creators.  Some of you will be the content creators, professors, educators and clinical experts of the future.  How will you step into those roles?  How will you harness the technology available to us to create more compelling, more interesting and effective learning tools?

These are the questions that will help us redefine what is possible in the way we train anesthesia providers and build better continuing education.

Categories
Anesthesia Education Preparing for Grad School/Residency Wellness

#24 – Social media leverage & landmines with Jason Bolt, DNP, CRNA

Dr. Jason Bolt, DNP, CRNA is a YouTuber and social media influencer in the anesthesia community. He graduated from Union University with his doctorate in anesthesia in 2019 and now practices in a collaborative group in the Bay Area. He offers mentorship through his YouTube channel memberships and enjoys helping others reach their goals in nursing and in anesthesia. He volunteers as a member of the AANA Communications Committee and is active in advocating for CRNAs on a legislative level. He is better known online as Bolt CRNA and you can find him @bolt_CRNA on YouTube, Instagram, Tiktok and Facebook. 

We talk about the pitfalls and leverage points of social media for anesthesia learners and other healthcare learners including nursing & medical students.

10 tips for surviving anesthesia training and your social media life:

  1. Make your posts anonymous relative to your school & clinical sites. (Avoid posting your school or clinical site names… like HIPAA, but for your school & clinical sites.)
  2. Avoid posting protected patient health information. This is obvious… and all about HIPAA.
  3. Keep your posts POSITIVE about healthcare. Rep your career path and the path of others in healthcare in the best light possible. Your posts reflect you as a provider and the profession in general.
  4. Avoid posting anything that may offend someone else. This is a tough one… especially when folks like Joe Rogan score multi-million dollar contracts to speak their mind. But you’re not Joe Rogan. (#yourenotjoerogan) You’re a student/learner… the more you piss people off by your posts & opinions, the harder (not easier) your path may be.
  5. Post & surf on your own time. Social media & any electronic communication is time stamped and discoverable. Practice vigilance at work and your profile pic at home.
  6. Avoid the usual pitfalls of social media… politics, religion, racism, sexism, demeaning posts/tags/likes/shares, etc.
  7. For content producers: be authentic, be honest, be truthful and cite peer-reviewed, professional sources in your posts if you’re talking about medical information. Be legit. What you & others post is not “peer reviewed” or edited by experts, so be extremely careful if you’re producing medical education for the world.
  8. Understand that your preceptors, faculty, professors, attendings, employers, program directors and legal teams at institutions (if necessary) will check you out on social media… post only what you want your employer and your mother to see.
  9. Rep your style. Do you. Tell people who you are & the path you’re on… real life stories gain traction more than fabricated realities. Have fun, find the others, connect with people, network and believe in the open, beautiful, hopeful world that social media is great at promoting.
  10. Be well. Shun the unbelievers, haters, trolls & hateful people. Block ’em. Don’t even engage. Watch the Social Dilemma. And then limit your time on social media with alerts on your phone. Go live your real life and be well.
Jason Bolt, DNP, CRNA making it look easy. Follow him @bolt_CRNA. #boltCRNA