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Surveyed plastic surgeons report using streaming media such as YouTube as educational tool

A majority of surveyed plastic surgeons reported previously using online streaming media, such as YouTube, to learn a new technique, according to research results recently published in JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery.

Researchers emailed an online survey to all 2,700 members of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS).

Questions included respondents’ sources for learning new technical and nontechnical skills, experience with online streaming media, such as YouTube, techniques learned through the medium, whether they used those techniques in practice and their interest in an online video library for facial plastic surgery.

Researchers also gathered demographic data, and used a t test to measure impact of fellowship completion and having more than 10 years of practice experience.

There were 202 responses (8% of AAFRRS membership; 90.9% men), with a well-balanced cohort based on experience and practice demographics, including 72.3% who were fellowship-trained.

Meetings, journals and discussions with colleagues were listed as the most popular methods to stay current with nontechnical and technical findings.

There were 64.1% of respondents who indicated “they had used an online technique at least once to learn a new technique, especially in the areas of rhinoplasty and injectable procedures, with 83.1% subsequently applying these techniques to their practice; 89.9% indicated they would be likely to use an online video library, and 60% expressed a willingness to pay for this service.”

The respondents who were not fellowship trained where more likely to use AAFPRS DVDs to learn new techniques (P = .03) and more willing to pay an access fee for an online library (P = .03).

More less-experienced respondents (82.4%) reported prior use of online streaming media compared with more-experienced respondents (P < .001), but experience did not affect interest in an online library.

“In our study, we found that most AAFPRS members have previously used online streaming media, especially those less than 10 years out of training who may be familiar with online information technology,” the researchers concluded. “Almost all respondents, regardless of fellowship or practice experience, expressed interest in an online library of surgical technique videos.”

“The Internet’s ease of access has raised concerns regarding the quality of these sources,” the researchers added. – by Bruce Thiel

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.