top of page
Captura de pantalla 2025-05-09 a la(s) 8.14.28 p.m..png

Cyberethics in Medicine: Navigating Professional Boundaries in the Digital Era

Project Overview

This instructional project focuses on raising awareness among medical students and healthcare professionals about the ethical challenges posed by the use of social media in clinical contexts. Through an interactive animated video experience, learners are introduced to the concept of cyberethics, guided through ethical principles from the World Medical Association (WMA), and asked to reflect and apply their knowledge in real-world inspired scenarios.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the lesson, learners will be able to:

  • Define cyberethics and explain its relevance to medical professionalism.

  • Identify ethical breaches related to confidentiality and professionalism on social media.

  • Apply international ethical guidelines (WMA codes) to assess appropriate and inappropriate behaviors.

  • Analyze real-world inspired cases to determine potential ethical and legal consequences.

Target Audience

  • Primary: Medical students, medical residents, and healthcare trainees.

  • Secondary: Medical educators and healthcare ethics committees.

Instructional Design Approach

Learning Theory/Frameworks Used:

  • Bloom’s Taxonomy: Moving from Remember → Understand → Apply → Analyze.

  • Constructivist Approach: Learners actively construct understanding by engaging with dilemmas and reflecting on their decision-making.

  • Adult Learning Principles: Emphasis on professional relevance, problem-centered learning, and opportunities for critical self-reflection.

Media and Tools

  • Video Creation: Vyond (animated explainer video with accessible visual design)

  • Interactive Layering Tools: PlayPosit (Interactive Video and Reflection Prompts)

Lesson Flow

Phase
Activity
1. Introduction
Anonymous poll: Learners self-assess their familiarity with cyberethics
2. Concept Presentation
Animated explanation of cyberethics and privacy challenges
3. Real-World Connection
Risks of sharing patient-related content on social media
4. Knowledge Check
Multiple-choice questions identifying ethical breaches
5. Reflection Pause
Open-ended reflection: Responding to hypothetical ethical violations
6. Summary and Application
Sorting activity with key ethical principles + Exit reflection

Assessment Strategy

  • Formative Assessment: Inline polls, multiple-choice questions, and reflection prompts throughout the video.

  • Applied Assessment: Interactive branching scenario analyzing appropriate versus inappropriate actions.

  • Summative Reflection: End-of-lesson reflection asking learners to articulate their main takeaways.

Special Instructional Design Notes

  • Ethical Sensitivity: Real-life examples were transformed into fictionalized scenarios to avoid HIPAA violations and to maintain a respectful, non-traumatic learning environment.

  • Accessibility: Video includes visual clarity, narration with captions, and text-based activities to accommodate diverse learners.

  • Tool Adaptability: Two versions of the interactive experience were developed — one using H5P and another using PlayPosit — to showcase flexibility in instructional tool application.

  • Creative Production: The animated video was fully scripted, storyboarded, and created by the instructional designer using Vyond, aligning visual storytelling with learning objectives.

Project Links

Reflection as an Instructional Designer

This project challenged me to balance educational impact with ethical sensitivity, especially when addressing complex real-world issues such as patient privacy violations. I developed skills in creating accessible animated content with Vyond, layered instructional interactivities using H5P and PlayPosit, and applied adult learning and constructivist principles to promote critical thinking. Designing this lesson deepened my understanding of how to translate serious ethical topics into engaging, respectful learning experiences for professional audiences.
bottom of page