Podcasts Becoming More Popular Method of Education for Otolaryngologists

While the coronavirus pandemic pushed people indoors and kept them apart, it also helped podcast production and consumption blossom, as people pursued online medical education during their downtime from clinical obligations while they sheltered at home.

Podcasts—audio programs that are easily accessible on a smartphone or through a tablet or laptop—were a popular format before this year, but COVID-19 created a greater need for online medical education resources and helped transform them from simply another type of media to a lot more.

Specialty Podcasts

Podcasts exist both on established platforms and on private websites, said Ronit Malka, MD, a second-year resident at Brooke Army Medical Center in Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and a resident editor of Headmirror.com’s ENT in a Nutshell podcast. “While we usually think of podcasts as being hosted on platforms like Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts, some are privately hosted or are even sold as audio features,” she said. “Somewhat unsurprisingly, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, lots more listeners have tuned in, and more podcasts have been developed.”

“With COVID-19, we’re no longer meeting in auditoriums or even small meeting rooms for lectures, and people are looking for ways to reach medical students and residents. A podcast is always accessible,” said Jason Barnes, MD, a fourth-year resident of otolaryngology–head and neck surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and a resident section editor for ENT in a Nutshell. “They’re repeatable and easy to use. You can put headphones in and listen on the subway, in a car, walking from the parking garage, or when you’re on the treadmill. You can also listen again if it didn’t sink in the first time. Video lectures are also helpful, but they require a different type of attention and a different platform.”

There are more than 20 otolaryngology podcasts available as of press time, all covering a range of clinical and professional topics, and some are now considered essential otolaryngology tools.

“The whole concept of remote learning and asynchronous learning has also really blossomed from being a supplemental nicety to an educational necessity, and this has supported podcast-based learning a lot,” said Dr. Malka, who is also the lead author of an in-depth review of medical podcasts across all specialties, comparing a number of quantitative metrics between podcasts in otolaryngology and those in other specialties.

Medical Podcast History

Podcast technology first appeared in the early 2000s, though the big boom in availability has occurred over the last five to seven years, Dr. Malka noted. “Broadly across all medical sub-specialties, podcast-based learning has had an exponential rise over the last few years, and otolaryngology has been no exception.”

Remote and asynchronous learning has blossomed with people with a high expertise level. —Ronit Malka, MD

The earliest medical podcasts were either recorded lectures or other more traditional audiovisual presentations, and listeners had to tune in without being able to see the companion visual aids, making it difficult to understand everything being said. “Over time, podcast producers recognized this and began formatting their podcasts for a listener-only audience, but most of them were focused on intermittent review of literature or opinion-based material, which left a gap in podcast-based resources for fundamental educational material,” Dr. Malka said.

Today, many podcasts trend toward shallow coverage, with either sporadic or short-term episodes, but it’s something podcasters are aiming to improve. “Additionally, many of the earlier podcasts stopped updating material after a few months or years of production, which quickly made their content less relevant or appealing for listeners hoping to supplement their fund of knowledge,” said Dr. Malka.

Otolaryngology Podcasts Today

Podcast development is increasing with the need and desire for on-demand content, said Erynne A. Faucett, MD, a pediatric otolaryngologist at Phoenix Children’s Hospital and an assistant professor at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science and the University of Arizona College of Medicine, Department of Child Health in Phoenix. “This is in response to the change in learning needs and the changing times,” she said. Dr. Faucett, along with Jennifer Villwock, MD, co-created the Rx: Fierce podcast.

Sponsored by a Women in Otolaryngology grant, Rx: Fierce is focused on leadership and development of women in medicine and surgery. The podcast features inspirational stories from medicine, surgery, and science, interwoven with self-coaching content. “There are plenty of personal development seminars, but they’re not always accessible because you need a significant amount of time, money, or both,” said Dr. Villwock. “The topics we discuss are applicable to all surgical specialties, and people tend to like the personal stories of those we interview; we’ve made an intentional effort to interview prominent and successful women in the field.”

With the pandemic limiting in-person contact, one’s digital footprint, including podcast creation and engagement, becomes more important, said Dr. Villwock, an associate professor of rhinology and skull base surgery and associate director of the otolaryngology–head and neck surgery residency program at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City. “When applying to residency programs, for example, that footprint is becoming the informal way people get to know us,” she said.

Trending Topics

Podcast production is nimble enough to reflect trends that occur not only in medicine, but also in society. The pandemic, practice management issues, and race relations have all been covered in assorted otolaryngology podcasts. “I recently listened to a FrequENTcy podcast about allyship, which was timely as we’re in the midst of a time of racial injustice and inequality,” said Dr. Faucett.

During the pandemic, added Sarah N. Bowe, MD, EdM, associate professor of surgery/otolaryngology and a pediatric otolaryngologist for the San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium, the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery’s FrequENTcy podcast has rapidly increased its production and launched a dedicated coronavirus disease podcast series providing direct peer-to-peer information and resources on COVID-19–relevant topics. “There appears to be an increasing recognition within the otolaryngology community that podcasts can disseminate information quickly and easily to a broad audience,” she said.

The number of medical student and resident educational podcasts has also been increasing. “We’re starting to see this space being used to provide information on rapidly changing processes in regard to the upcoming Match 2021 season,” said Dr. Bowe, who is also part of the editorial team for the Headmirror website.

The range of otolaryngology podcast topics is likely to grow as the media form matures. “The goal would be to have a few podcasts within otolaryngology that cover a range of topics in an in-depth fashion—at least a few covering general education, another few covering new literature, and then a few more covering opinions within the field—so that listeners can choose their material based on their individual learning goals and availability,” Dr. Malka said. “These topics are what most people report as the reasons they listen to medical education podcasts.”

For the Future

As the podcast field grows, it will provide another way to convey information, particularly for earlier-career otolaryngologists working with others. “One of our goals is to empower the next generation of otolaryngologists to drive the content and production of podcasts, and they have done a truly fantastic job,” said Dr. Bowe.

Quality will also improve as more physicians rely on podcasting for educational content. “There are immense opportunities for podcasts to become an integral component of asynchronous learning opportunities,” said Dr. Bowe. “However, we’ll also need to develop and support ways to evaluate their quality, including assessment of credibility, content, and design, similar to other educational modalities that use peer review.”

Time will show which podcasts rise to the top of the field. “I think for podcasts, more and more we can expect routine and up-to-date content, certainly from established leaders in the field,” said Dr. Villwock. “I think the pandemic has emphasized how otolaryngology has been missing from this space for a while.”

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Cheryl Alkon is a freelance medical writer based in Massachusetts.