The role of social media in the training and continuing education of healthcare professionals in Eastern Saudi Arabia

Background: Continuing education is essential for healthcare professionals to update their theoretical and practical knowledge about the advances of the medical profession throughout their professional lives. No study has been conducted in Saudi Arabia on this topic. Purpose: The objective of this study was to assess the role of social media in the training and continuing education of healthcare professionals in Eastern Saudi Arabia. Methodology: A total of 483 healthcare professionals were randomly selected and administered with a survey through an online application distributed using a link via email, WhatsApp, Facebook, and LinkedIn. The response rate was 72%. Results: 53% of the participants attended training and continuing education programs through social media in Eastern Saudi Arabia. YouTube (23%) was the most used social network for this purpose. The respondents considered that social media platforms were “very helpful” to improve their knowledge (52%), creativity (45%), clinical skills (42%), critical thinking (50%), problem-solving skills (52%), and patient outcomes (44%). Conclusion: The results suggested that it is necessary to develop adequate strategies for healthcare professionals to increase the use of training and continuing education programs through social networks in Saudi Arabia. In general, the participants considered that social networks were beneficial tools to improve their theoretical and practical knowledge and expand their professional training