Pamella Leybengrub
Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, United States
Abstract Title:
The Digital hidden educational curriculum of dermatology
Biography:
Pamella Leybengrub is a fourth-year medical student at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University in NY with a strong interest in dermatology, particularly skin cancer prevention, patient education, and improving access to dermatologic care. Her academic interests include dermatologic research, advocacy, and service, with a focus on translating research into meaningful improvements in patient care.
Research Interests:
Introduction: Medical students increasingly supplement traditional dermatology education through social media–based teaching accounts that function as an informal parallel curriculum. The aim of this study was to explore how decentralized digital learning environments are reshaping how medical students acquire dermatologic knowledge outside of formal institutional settings.
Methods: A comprehensive literature search of PubMed and Google Scholar was conducted. Search terms included “digital hidden curriculum,” “social media.” “dermatology education,” “pattern recognition,” and “visual learning.” Studies focusing on social media and dermatology medical education, digital dermatology educational tools, pattern recognition training, and peer-to-peer educational communities were included.
Results: Dermatology’s visual nature combined with limited dermatology instruction at many U.S. medical schools, makes the field uniquely suited for digital learning. As early as 2011, students were supplementing formal dermatologic education with online communities and streaming videos. However, a majority of dermatology content on social media is created by non-dermatologists. On TikTok, only 16.8% of dermatology videos are posted by dermatologists, and on Instagram fewer than 4% of acne posts originated from dermatologists. A cross-sectional study of Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Reddit found that 44.7% of shared dermatology content was imprecise. Despite these quality concerns, peer-driven dermatology communities demonstrate higher learner satisfaction and enable multi-institutional participation across geographically dispersed students.
Conclusions: A digital hidden curriculum is actively shaping dermatology education. While these resources democratize dermatologic learning, challenges around misinformation and lack of faculty oversight persist. Medical educators should acknowledge and integrate these digital platforms to optimize student training.
