Use of Semiprivate Smartphone Communication Applications in Nephrology Education

Aadi Pandya; Mohamed E Elrggal; Kenar D Jhaveri

doi:10.1016/j.semnephrol.2020.04.010

Use of Semiprivate Smartphone Communication Applications in Nephrology Education

Semin Nephrol. 2020 May;40(3):303-308. doi: 10.1016/j.semnephrol.2020.04.010.

Authors

Aadi Pandya¹, Mohamed E Elrggal², Kenar D Jhaveri³

Affiliations

¹ Herricks High School, New Hyde Park, New York.
² Nephrology Department, Kidney and Urology Center, Alexandria, Egypt.
³ Division of Kidney Diseases and Hypertension, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine, Hofstra/Northwell, Great Neck, NY. Electronic address: kjhaveri@northwell.edu.

PMID: 32560780
DOI: 10.1016/j.semnephrol.2020.04.010

Abstract

Advances in information technology have changed human interactions. These changes have had considerable implications for nonmedical and medical educational practices. The use of semi-private applications such as WhatsApp (Mountain View, CA), Slack (Canada), Viber (Israel), and Google Hangouts (Mountain View, CA) has not been well studied in nephrology education. In this narrative review, we review the literature on the use of these communication applications in medicine and nephrology education. Although many of these applications might be used currently in nephrology, there is little published data regarding the use of WhatsApp in nephrology fellowship. Given the easy accessibility of these communication applications by our learners in medical school, residency, and fellowship, the use of such applications can enhance nephrology education.

Keywords: Slack; Social media; Viber; WhatsApp; fellowship; medical education; nephrology education; semiprivate smartphone communication.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Communication*
Confidentiality*
Education, Medical
Humans
Internship and Residency
Mobile Applications*
Nephrology / education*
Online Social Networking
Smartphone*
Students, Medical