{"id":20836,"date":"2026-07-31T10:33:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T10:33:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woncaeurope2026.org\/sessions\/navigating-the-landscape-of-online-learning-resources-could-medical-students-benefit-from-guidance\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T10:33:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T10:33:24","slug":"navigating-the-landscape-of-online-learning-resources-could-medical-students-benefit-from-guidance","status":"publish","type":"wsa_session","link":"https:\/\/woncaeurope2026.org\/fr\/sessions\/navigating-the-landscape-of-online-learning-resources-could-medical-students-benefit-from-guidance\/","title":{"rendered":"Navigating the landscape of online learning resources: could medical students benefit from guidance?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Medical students have many online learning resources to select from for self-directed learning which could feel overwhelming to navigate.We aimed to explore medical students\u2019\u00a0attitudes and use\u00a0of online point of care information systems for learning.\u00a0During this\u00a0study\u00a0students discussed many\u00a0other\u00a0online learning resources. Here we\u00a0report\u00a0the digital information\u00a0landscape\u00a0described\u00a0by\u00a0students.We conducted three in-person focus groups using a semi-structured topic guide between February and April 2025.\u00a0A convenience sample\u00a0of thirteen fifth-year medical students\u00a0was\u00a0recruited\u00a0from XXX medical school. These students had begun to consult independently during their General Practice placements. Anonymised transcripts were thematically analysed using a coding template guided by self-directed learning theory.Medical students reported using a vast array of online resources for learning. During the\u00a0three\u00a0focus groups,\u00a0thirteen students commented on\u00a059 online resources. These are shown in the word cloud in Figure 1. \u00a0 Several students reported feeling overwhelmed by the range of possible information sources and wished:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2018to be taught like how to use\u2019 and \u2018navigate these websites\u2019, \u2018because sometimes there are really, really good resources, but we just don\u2019t know how to find them\u2019.\u00a0 \u00a0 Barriers to resource usage included accessibility, phone storage issues, needing to login, and cost. Participants also commented that:\u00a0\u00a0 \u2018you have to pay for everything\u2019 \u00a0 \u2018It adds up\u2019\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2018it&#039;s a bit unfair for people that like can&#039;t afford it\u2019.\u00a0 One student expressed a desire for the university to subsidise resources.These findings support calls for\u00a0medical schools to provide guidance about\u00a0online\u00a0learning\u00a0resources,\u00a0and\u00a0consider mitigating\u00a0inequalities\u00a0driven by cost barriers\u00a0through solutions such as subsidisation.Medical students have many online resources available for learning, but\u00a0paywalls may\u00a0exacerbate\u00a0learning inequalities.\u00a0Clinical educators can better support students to navigate this crowded digital information landscape, by deliberately including guidance about how to select, use and learn from online resources in their teaching sessions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","class_list":["post-20836","wsa_session","type-wsa_session","status-publish","hentry","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woncaeurope2026.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsa_session\/20836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woncaeurope2026.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsa_session"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woncaeurope2026.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wsa_session"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woncaeurope2026.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}