DT03: Diversifying educational resources during the COVID‐19 pandemic: delivering educational dermatology podcasts and webinars for healthcare professionals

A. Paolino,¹ A. Sears,¹ R. Mills,¹ J. Barker,¹ F. Child,¹ E. Craythorne,¹ F. Ferguson,¹ K. Lacy,¹ H. Malhomme de la Roche,¹ H. McAteer,² R. Morris‐Jones,¹ R. Patalay,¹ E. Rashid,¹ A. Salam,¹ C. Smith,¹ C. Stefanato,¹ S. Walsh,³ L. Moorhead,¹ K. Jackson¹ and S. Mahil¹

¹Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital; ²Psoriasis Association; and ³King’s College Hospital, London, UK

The COVID‐19 pandemic has led to major challenges in the delivery of medical education due to social distancing rules and the redeployment of healthcare professionals to frontline specialties. ‘Anytime/anywhere’ learning via podcasts and webinars may address this by facilitating ongoing education for healthcare professionals (Chipps J, Brysiewicz P, Mars M. A systematic review of the effectiveness of videoconference‐based tele‐education for medical and nursing education. Worldviews Evid Based Nurs 2012; 9: 78–87). Podcasts are portable digital audio files that can be streamed/downloaded to a smartphone/MP3 player and listened to at any time. Webinars feature multimedia content that can be downloaded for later viewing and for audiences located anywhere. To address the unmet need for continuing professional development in dermatology during the pandemic, we produced a series of open‐access, evidence‐based bespoke podcasts for clinicians on topics including facial hyperpigmentation, cutaneous manifestations of COVID‐19, occupational dermatoses in the pandemic and sarcoidosis (https://www.stjohnsdermacademy.com/podcasts). Each 20‐min, peer‐reviewed podcast was delivered by expert dermatologists and supplemented with online summaries of learning objectives, key facts and references. We also pioneered five educational webinars for dermatology healthcare professionals, comprising three full‐day courses (Advanced Cutaneous Oncology, Dermoscopy and Specialty Certificate Examination Revision Course) and two half‐day courses (Psoriasis Therapeutics Masterclass and Hidradenitis Suppurativa Masterclass; https://www.stjohnsdermacademy.com/past‐events). Educational content was delivered through a combination of live PowerPoint presentations and pre‐recorded videos. Interaction with delegates was facilitated by live polling of multiple‐choice quizzes and question‐and‐answer sessions with expert multiprofessional teaching faculties. A patient and public involvement webinar was also delivered during the pandemic, entitled ‘Psoriasis, COVID‐19 and Me’. To assess user experiences, we invited podcast listeners and webinar attendees to complete an online survey. Our series of podcasts received 2700 global downloads across 51 countries (including 2073 in UK, 89 in the USA and 59 in Australia). The average attendance at each webinar was 169 clinicians (range 138–199); delegates attended from a total of 27 countries. Seventy‐five per cent of podcast users reported episodes as having a useful impact on their clinical practice and knowledge. Eighty‐three per cent of webinar attendees rated the quality of teaching ‘excellent’ or ‘above average’. In total, 94–99% of webinar attendees ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ that their educational needs were met. Altogether, 75–98% of podcasts users and webinar attendees rated both the educational level and range of topics ‘about right’ and would recommend the resource to a colleague. Seventy‐eight per cent of webinar attendees would prefer to attend future courses using an online webinar format (vs. face to face). Our experiences of delivering innovative dermatology education resources provide important shared learning opportunities. Podcasts and webinars have real potential to provide accessible, evidence‐based dermatology education during the pandemic and beyond.