Use of Social Media in Digital Learning of Clinical Skills in Medical Students

Abstract

Introduction: The integration of social media into medical education represents a pedagogical innovation for the development of clinical skills, the systematic application of which in the Cuban context is still incipient.
Objective: To evaluate the use of social media in the digital learning of clinical skills among medical students at the University of Medical Sciences of Sancti Spíritus.
Methods:  A descriptive, cross-sectional, mixed-method study was conducted during the 2024-2025 academic year. The purposive, non-probability sample included 120 third-year medical students. Theoretical (analysis-synthesis, induction-deduction) and empirical methods were employed. Data collection included a digital survey validated by experts (concordance index >0.85; Cronbach's α = 0.89) and semi-structured interviews with clinical instructors. Quantitative analysis used descriptive statistics with IBM SPSS Statistics v25.0, and qualitative analysis was based on thematic categorization and methodological triangulation. The procedure guaranteed informed consent, confidentiality, and approval by the institutional ethics committee.
Results: All students used social media for academic purposes, with WhatsApp (98.3 %) and YouTube (95.8 %).  The main benefits were accessibility to knowledge (91.7 %) and collaborative learning (83.3 %). Limitations included distractions (66.7 %) and lack of teacher supervision (55.8 %). Teachers recognized the pedagogical potential, but emphasized the need for methodological guidance and regulatory frameworks.
Conclusions: Social media is a valuable resource for clinical learning. Its effective integration requires structured pedagogical guidance that ensures its ethical and scientific use.
Keywords: social media; clinical skills; digital learning; medical students; medical education.