The Facebook teaching group was a success when launched in one district general hospital in London. It is felt that this system should be incorporated into all the hospitals in Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust with a view for it to be in place in time for the following academic year. We propose that this system should be trialled in all clinical sites as it provides a unique environment for peer-led discussions and learning. It is felt the course is very individual during the clinical years of medical school so a forum where students can exchange experiences is a positive way of sharing this information.

Evaluation of a ‘Teaching Forum’ within an Internet-based social networking site, Facebook, as an educational environment for medical students that underwent clinical attachments at a district general hospital between September 2010 and June 2011.  

An independent online survey was used to collate the experiences of 68 undergraduate members of the ‘Teaching Forum’. The Likert scale was used for analysis of responses. 

1. Success of such a group on a public platform requires strict rules that must be adhered to (eg the 60% strike rate).

2. The group dynamic completely depends on the members of the group but the moderators must act to stimulate discussion and be proactive participators.

3. Privacy settings on each member's Facebook account should be adjusted so as to maintain professionalism.

Many thanks to Dr Gokulan Phoenix for his help and supervision

The teaching forum was accessed weekly by all undergraduate students, according to those that had responded (n=38, 55.9%). Interestingly, some did not use their Facebook profile for social reasons (n=2, 5.3%).

Most students spent greater than 30 minutes studying for the weekly extended matching questions set in the forum (n=29, 76.3%), with a significant proportion having attempted all 10 question sets (n=16, 42.1%). 

Furthermore, students felt more comfortable asking questions on the forum than at ward-rounds and clinics (n=33, 86.9%).

The general consensus was that Facebook can be used for educational purposes (n=34, 89.5%), and that the forum helped achieve the learning objectives of the curriculum (n=35, 92.1%).

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