Tackling acid-base disorders, one Twitter poll at a time.

Publisher: American Physiological Society Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 100913944 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1522-1229 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 10434046 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Adv Physiol Educ Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: Bethesda, MD : American Physiological Society, c1989-

Acid-Base Equilibrium* ; Choice Behavior* ; Computer-Assisted Instruction* ; Education, Distance* ; Social Media*; Acid-Base Imbalance/*etiology ; Education, Medical, Undergraduate/*methods ; Physiology/*education; Acid-Base Imbalance/diagnosis ; Acid-Base Imbalance/physiopathology ; COVID-19 ; Comprehension ; Coronavirus Infections/prevention & control ; Coronavirus Infections/transmission ; Coronavirus Infections/virology ; Curriculum ; Educational Status ; Humans ; Pandemics/prevention & control ; Pneumonia, Viral/prevention & control ; Pneumonia, Viral/transmission ; Pneumonia, Viral/virology ; Psychological Distance ; Quarantine

Understanding and interpretation of acid-base disorders is an important clinical skill that is applicable to the majority of physicians. Although this topic is taught early in medical school, acid-base disturbances have been described as challenging by postgraduate trainees. We describe the use of Twitter, an online microblogging platform, to augment education in acid-base disturbances by using polls in which the user is shown laboratory values and then asked to select the most likely etiology of the disorder. The answer and a brief explanation are then shared in a subsequent tweet. Both polling questions and answers are shared from the account for the online, mobile-optimized, nephrology teaching tool NephSIM (https://www.nephsim.com/). An anonymous survey was administered to assess attitudes toward these polls. Using Twitter as an approach to enhance teaching of acid-base disturbances was both feasible and an engaging way to teach a challenging topic for trainees and physicians. Moreover, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has demonstrated the importance of incorporating virtual learning opportunities in all levels of medical education.

Keywords: Twitter; acid-base disorders; medical education; nephrology; social media

Date Created: 20201020 Date Completed: 20201028 Latest Revision: 20211213

20221213

10.1152/advan.00099.2020

33079564