Microbe Mail: A microbiology and infectious diseases podcast for clinicians and students

Vindana Chibabhai; Gert J K Marais; Vinitha Alex

doi:10.4102/sajid.v38i1.570

Microbe Mail: A microbiology and infectious diseases podcast for clinicians and students

S Afr J Infect Dis. 2023 Dec 21;38(1):570. doi: 10.4102/sajid.v38i1.570. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Vindana Chibabhai^{1

2}, Gert J K Marais^{3

4}, Vinitha Alex^{1

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
² Department of Microbiology Laboratory, Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg, South Africa.
³ Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
⁴ Department of Medical Microbiology Laboratory, Groote Schuur Hospital, National Health Laboratory Service, Cape Town, South Africa.
⁵ Department of Microbiology, Ekurhuleni Region, National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Abstract

Microbe Mail medical podcast is an audio-only informal educational platform, which addresses widespread topics in medical microbiology and infectious diseases (ID), with a particular focus on low- and middle-income settings. Podcasting has become a common form of informal learning in healthcare education and for continual professional development (CPD).

Contribution: In this article, we discuss the development of the Microbe Mail podcast, its informal microbiology and ID education impact in the 2 years since commencement and future directions to improve uptake in Africa and low- and middle-income countries.

Keywords: control; infection prevention; infectious diseases; medical education; medical podcast; microbiology.