Promotion of the Critical-Reflective Use of Online Media Among Medical Students in Final Clinical Year

To enhance patient outcomes, physicians must effectively utilize the Internet to incorporate the latest medical research and guidelines into their clinical diagnostic and treatment decision-making and acting. However, the abundance and inaccuracies of Internet information present significant challenges. The increasing advancements in medicine exacerbate the challenge of staying updated on diagnostic and treatment guidelines, impacting both practicing physicians and recent graduates. This requires them to acquire critical-reflective online research strategies. Despite this high relevance, promoting respective skills is not sufficiently anchored in the study curricula, and young medical professionals report feeling unprepared for professional practice. Therefore, our study aims to conceptualize and implement cross-location digital training to foster domain-specific critical-reflective use of online media among graduate medical students transitioning from university to postgraduate practical education. The evaluation of the newly developed training provides initial indications of its feasibility, effectiveness, and practical recommendations for medical education.