Abstract
As new technology continues to dominate in all aspects of modern life, there is a growing need for veterinarians to engage in non-traditional communication—both within the profession and with potential clients. Currently few resources explain how and why to use non-traditional mediums, such as podcasts, to communicate effectively with younger generations.1 However, an increasing number of studies demonstrate the utility of podcasts in medical school education2,3 and higher education institutions,4 which focus on conveying important information in an engaging and memorable experience. Importantly, they establish a personal interaction between the listener and the topic, which aids in its educational importance. Here we describe the use of a novel podcast, Aquadocs, as a tool for disseminating information about aquatic veterinary medicine to a broad, international audience.
Podcast guests were chosen based upon their professional interests: veterinary education (n=3) and communication (n=1), and invertebrate (n=2), marine mammal (n=3), fish (n=2), and turtle (n=1) medicine. Episode topics included fish, invertebrates, marine mammals, seafood, ethics, science communication, aquatic veterinary history, and advice for veterinary students. Questions were cultivated to highlight the guests’ professional accomplishments while telling a captivating story. Target audiences included students, veterinarians, and those interested in aquatic animal health and welfare. Weekly, information on new episodes was promoted on multiple social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) and advertised through email listservs. Episodes were recorded using Zoom, edited with Audacity, and made available through the Aquadocs website,a Spotify,b and a number of iOS and Android podcast applications. Podcast interactions and impacts were evaluated through monitoring episode plays, comments, and engagement on social media.
Twelve episodes were published between September and November 2020. Episodes averaged 28 minutes, with 2,633 total plays (mean 206.7 per episode). Listeners were distributed geographically across 43 countries and in all continents, excluding Antarctica. Facebook posts reached an average of 1,927 people with an average engagement of 163 (post clicks, reactions, comments, and shares). Aquadocs has 381 page likes and 409 total followers.
This study demonstrated the process, feasibility, and utility of creating podcasts that provide useful information to inform students, veterinarians new to aquatic veterinary medicine, and potential clients about aquatic veterinary medicine. While internet blogs and posting of messages in social media provide information to veterinary and non-veterinary audiences, the positive interaction provided by podcasts to a global audience provides a more meaningful, personal, and connected network for pre-veterinary and veterinary students interested in aquatic medicine, and it has the potential to attract more people to consider a career in this field. It is also helpful to disseminate information about aquatic veterinary medicine to a non-veterinary community. The positive audience response generated by the Aquadocs podcast encourages further exploration for others in the veterinary community to adapt non-traditional communication methods.
Endnotes
a. www.aquadocspodcast.com/episodes.html
b. https://open.spotify.com/show/7t2Mq83j6n0CKI7bnRTERh
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the guests who have appeared on Aquadocs episodes and helped contribute to its success. We also thank Brigid Ehrmantraut and Jason Greenfield for their creative development expertise.
*Presenting author
+Student presenter
Literature Cited
1. Gibson LA, Sodeman WA. 2014. Millennials and technology: addressing the communication gap in education and practice. Org Develop J. 32:63–75.
2. Hargittai E, Piper AM, Morris MR. 2019. From internet access to internet skills: digital inequality among older adults. Univ Access Inf Soc. 18:881–890.
3. Berk J, Watto M, Williams P. 2020. Twelve tips for creating a medical education podcast. Med Teach. 42(11):1221–1227.
4. Berk J, Trivedi SP, Watto M, Williams P, Centor R. 2020. Medical education podcasts: where we are and questions unanswered. J Gen Intern Med. 35(7):2176–2178.