Engagement in Free Open Access Medical Education by US Nephrology Fellows.

BACKGROUND: As free open access medical education use increases, it is important to characterize how and why learners are using this educational material in nephrology. We describe the frequency, purpose, and type of free open access medical education usage across US nephrology fellows.

METHODS: In this cross-sectional survey, items were emailed to all US adult and pediatric nephrology fellows via the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Fellow Survey in May 2022. The eight-item survey, developed to measure free open access medical education engagement, had previously undergone instrument validation. Results were analyzed by descriptive statistics.

RESULTS: In total, 43% (359/842) adult nephrology fellows and 51% (45/88) pediatric nephrology fellows completed the survey. 74% (300/404) of fellows reported using free open access medical education, and 72% (215/300) started using free open access medical education within the last 2 years. Of free open access medical education users, 41% (122/300) reported viewing free open access medical education and 33% (99/300) reported applying knowledge gained from these resources daily or weekly. Common purposes for free open access medical education engagement included searching Twitter to learn about others' opinions in the field (43%; 130/300), reading blogs to answer clinical questions (35%; 105/300), and listening to podcasts for the most up to date information (39%; 116/300). Compared with traditional educational resources, fellows preferred using free open access medical education for staying up to date on nephrology topics (75%) and answering clinical questions (37%). Amongst all fellows, the greatest barriers to free open access medical education use were unfamiliarity with free open access medical education (27%; 111/404), validity concerns (22%; 90/404), and a lack of a local community of free open access medical education users (22%; 87/404).

CONCLUSIONS: 74% of nephrology fellows used free open access medical education resources in a variety of ways, and of these, 33% of fellows clinically applied knowledge gained from these resources. Reasons for engaging with free open access medical education varied across resources.