Introduction

The use of WhatsApp for health professional education is not novel and is described increasingly in literature as an affordable, familiar, and convenient tool for collaboration. Social media technologies for health practitioner education allow the use of text and audio-visual aids, peer-to-peer based learning, and problem-based learning. This study presents a survey on the effectiveness of WhatsApp in doctors’ preparation for a medical licensing exam.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted among one hundred and ninety-four participants of a WhatsApp group preparing for the PLAB exam over a three-month period. A twenty-item questionnaire designed on Google Form was completed by consenting participants on the publication of exam results.

Results

Of the one hundred and ninety-four participants, one hundred and fourteen met the eligibility criteria, 57.9 percent were male and 42.1 percent were female, aged between twenty-four and forty-three years of age ( years). A total of 88.6 percent of participants passed the exam in contrast to the global average pass rate of 69 percent, while the average score among participants was 131.5 compared to a global average score of 128. Passing the exam was significantly associated with combining the WhatsApp group with the online question bank Plabable (p = 0.001). While the mean age of those who passed the PLAB exam was lower than those who did not pass the exam, the number of years post-graduation had no significant association with passing the exam. A total of 93.8 percent stated that moderators were knowledgeable, 83.3 percent reported that the platform increased their motivation to learn, 72.8 percent felt that the session were organised and easy-to-follow, and 97.4 percent of participants reported they would recommend the PLAB network.

Conclusion

WhatsApp can be an effective tool for health professional education, using a pre-defined curriculum coupled with organizational structure. This study reported both subjective and objective measures of effectiveness and demonstrated that the use of multiple e-learning resources can lead to improved learning outcomes.

中文翻译：

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关于WhatsApp对教医生进行许可考试准备的有效性的调查。

介绍

在卫生专业教育中使用WhatsApp并不新颖，并且在文学中越来越多地将它描述为一种可负担，熟悉且方便的协作工具。用于卫生从业人员教育的社交媒体技术允许使用文本和视听辅助工具，基于对等的学习以及基于问题的学习。这项研究提出了有关WhatsApp在医生准备医学许可考试中的有效性的调查。

方法

在为期三个月的准备PLAB考试的WhatsApp小组的194名参与者中进行了横断面研究。同意参加考试的参与者完成了在Google表单上设计的二十项问卷。

结果

在194位参与者中，有114位符合资格标准，其中男性占57.9％，女性占42.1％，年龄在24岁至43岁之间（年份）。总计88.6％的参与者通过了考试，而全球平均通过率为69％，而参与者的平均分数为131.5，而全球平均分数为128。通过考试与将WhatsApp组结合在一起显着相关在线试题库Plabable（p = 0.001）。尽管通过PLAB考试的人的平均年龄比未通过考试的人的平均年龄低，但毕业后的年数与通过考试没有显着关联。共有93.8％的人表示主持人是有学问的； 83.3％的人表示该平台增加了学习的动机； 72.8％的人认为该会议是有组织的且易于遵循的； 97.4％的参与者表示他们会推荐PLAB网络。

结论

通过使用预定义的课程和组织结构，WhatsApp可以成为健康专业教育的有效工具。这项研究报告了有效性的主观和客观指标，并证明了使用多种电子学习资源可以提高学习效果。