Medical student perspectives on the application of social media in higher education [Letter].

Ahmad Salha, Ahmed Abbass, Samsul IslamFaculty of Medicine, St. George’s Hospital Medical School, London, UKCorrespondence: Ahmad SalhaFaculty of Medicine, St George’s Hospital Medical School, Cranmer Terrace, London SW17 0RE, UKTel +44 777 955 5525Email ahmad_salha@hotmail.co.uk We read the article by Guraya et al1 with great interest. We were fascinated by the idea that social media could be integrated into medical curricula and be used as an educational platform in the future. As medical students who use various social networking sites (SNS) for both educational and recreational use, we wish to offer our opinion on this topic.Guraya et al1 suggest that social media’s role in higher education is currently under-utilised and has greater potential in the future. Cheston et al2 explored the effects of integrating social media tools into medical curricula. Their work found that it not only improved exam scores, but also reflective practice and empathy, both of which are essential skills for doctors. They also noted that these platforms improved learner engagement, feedback and personal development, thus reinforcing the positive effects described in the article by Guraya et al.1 Read the original article here