MediChats the Virtual Talk-Show: Enhancing Resident Medical Decision Making and Medical Knowledge Through Livestream Conversations and Synchronous Podcasting

The evolving trend in medical education is to limit traditional lectures and diversify how educational sessions are structured and delivered. In the age of podcasts, social media, and on-demand channels, learners are transitioning to more engaging avenues to enhance clinical knowledge and decision-making. As these modalities become more prevalent among learners of all types, medical educators must be able to navigate this new learning style and know how to incorporate it into their teaching armamentarium. The introduction of in-house virtual live talk sessions has redefined our didactics. Our MediChat sessions employ a conversational format that shares thought processes in addition to factual knowledge. These sessions allows the presenters, residents, and faculty to create a casual and friendly atmosphere by incorporating jokes, humor, and personality. Our residents have cited this characteristic when describing the engaging nature of our MediChats and its ability to cultivate a sense of connectedness with each other.

In this workshop, chief residents will learn a strategy they can utilize at their institution on ways to incorporate and conduct a virtual talk show that is live, engaging, and relevant to learners. An overview of common podcasts will be reviewed with integration techniques within ones didactic curriculum. We will describe the steps we take to design and prepare the MediChat sessions, using small and large group discussion. The goal is to provide a user-friendly framework for developing and conducting an engaging, low-effort livestream that optimizes resident and student learning through the simple act of talking with one another.