Using Media to Share Health Information: An Introduction

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Department
Interdisciplinary Medicine
Course Number
IDIS 306
Course Title Using Media to Share Health Information: An Introduction
Course Director
Adrienne Poon, MD, MPH
Length (Weeks)

2
When Offered

Weeks 40-41
Prerequisites

None
Availability Notes

Duration: 2 weeks (10 x 2 hour sessions). Offered once in the spring semester. There will be additional pre- and post-session work required beyond the ten 2 hour sessions to successfully complete the course.
Contact Name
Dr. Atencio
Contact Phone
Contact Fax
Contact Email
latencio@mfa.gwu.edu
Other Contacts

Co-course director: Dr. Leonel Atencio, MD; Laura Abate (leabate@gwu.edu); Tom Harrod (tph@gwu.edu)
Location

virtual
Limit
10
Report
Evaluation

Grading: Pass/Fail (pass = 75%) based on the following:

  • Final project (50%)
  • Student presentations (15%)
  • Best practices guide (15%)
  • Participation/attendance (20%) - attendance is mandatory for each session 
Description

Purpose and Rationale for the Course: Media pervades today’s society and medical students need to learn how to utilize the various mediums for their professional advantage. Video can be an effective tool for communicating health information, while social media and the news media can serve as avenues for both health education and video promotion. Learning best practices for these mediums can increase the impact of the information and enhance the role of medical students and health professionals in the community.

Target Students: This course is designed for MS3 and MS4 students who plan to be involved in research and/or community health, and are interested in learning about best practices for the use of various media platforms as medical professionals. Developing good media skills will help students share information effectively with others, whether they are members of the public in the community or fellow healthcare professionals in their area of interest.

Course Learning Objectives:

At the end of this course, the student should be able to:

  1. Describe the key features of an effective video and interview.
  2. Discuss the role of social media platforms in disseminating health information.
  3. Demonstrate video recording and editing skills.

Course Description: The prevalence and influence of media continues to grow in modern society. This elective is designed to introduce students to a variety of media platforms as well as best practices for using these platforms as a medical student and physician. This course will introduce students to the basic tenets of video production and editing, as well as ways to publicize their media product. Students will also learn how to be interviewed by a variety of interviewers (press, judges) and how to use social media to share their product.

Means of Assessing Learning:

  • Development of best practices guide (video creation, various types of interviews) with feedback from classmates and instructors.  Participation in class discussions and activities.
  • In-class student presentation on social media publicity plan for PSA. Participation in class discussions and activities.
  • Final project: students will create and present a public service announcement video on a health topic of their choice.
Additional Notes

See this video featuring PSAs from students who took this elective previously.