Spot diagnosis: anatomy of a dermatology podcast

ABSTRACT

Background: The teaching of dermatology in medical schools is variable, and in many cases, minimal1. Postgraduate teaching of dermatology is similar, despite skin diseases comprising 15% of the work of GPs in Australia2. Aim and method: At the Skin Health Institute, we created a free, open-access podcast series on skin disease and dermatology, called Spot Diagnosis, aimed at educating medical students and GPs/GP trainees. Results: Spot Diagnosis was launched in March 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit Australia. Despite this, Spot Diagnosis has been very successful. To date, Spot Diagnosis 1. Has had more than 10000 downloads in 64 different countries 2. Has made it onto the resource lists of multiple medical schools 3. Has been approved for RACGP and ACRRM CPD points 4. Has been profiled in the mainstream and medical media 5. Is still going strong after two seasons and twenty episodes. Discussion: I would like to explore the rationale behind creating the podcast, especially looking at how we decided on the format, topics, and guests. I would like to discuss the practical aspects of recording and editing a podcast, particularly during the pandemic and how we marketed Spot Diagnosis using social media. Finally, I would like to highlight how we, as dermatology educators, engaged successfully with the brave new world of FOAMed (Free-online medical education).