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Podcasts, portable digital audio files that usually are listened to on a smartphone or MP3 player, have become a potent medium for medical education. Medical podcasting has become more sophisticated over the past decade as the producers of this material experiment and adapt the format. At the same time, production of podcasting has shifted from being a part of traditional medical educational venues such as journals and medical school curricula to organic digital education, individuals operating outside of, or parallel to, the traditional medical educational system. The past several years have seen increasing attempts to evaluate and organize podcasting material into vibrant educational resources. This article describes the history of podcasts, prior work on its efficacy in medical education, research directions for the future, and a vision of a global podcasting curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social media, particularly podcasts, has become an influential modality within informal medical education. As podcasts continue to become more prevalent among learners of all types, clinical educators of the future must be able to help navigate this new pedagogy. Preliminary data demonstrates that medical students, residents, post-training physicians, and advanced practitioners all utilize podcasts for their own benefit. New data is discussed in the setting of the current literature on podcasting and important questions remain to determine how this new form of learning can and will be integrated into formal and informal medical curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]