ArticleThe clinical teacher2026
Beyond the Hype: A Scoping Review of TikTok's Potential and Pitfalls in Clinical Education.
Article in The clinical teacher, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionMultimedia, including TikTok, is increasingly predominant for asynchronous and synchronous learning. This scoping review aimed to determine the role of TikTok for clinical education, including assessment of learning benefits, limitations, accessibility, acceptability and feasibility.
methodsWe conducted a scoping review following Joanna Briggs Institute's (JBI) guidelines. Literature eligibility criteria included any literature discussing TikTok for clinical education. Findings were narratively synthesised on a bespoke data collection tool and analysed.
resultsThis review highlighted both strengths and risks relating to TikTok for clinical education. Identified strengths included benefits for student engagement and enjoyment from learning, improving accessibility and acceptability of learning content and opportunities for advocacy and outreach. The scope of educational opportunities included direct learning of clinical information, academic discourse and dissemination and professional networking. Learning benefits related to integrative multimedia pedagody and reduction of learner cognitive load, which optimised the learning potential from content viewed. Benefits detailed were predominantly conceptual, with a lack of studies analysing TikTok educational use and risk of bias from studies high. Risks and challenges relating to TikTok were notable, including cybersecurity, misinformation, addiction and exploitation risks from social media use, as well as a lack of professional guidance and legislation.
conclusionsWhile TikTok has potential, its integration into clinical education remains limited by risks. Ethical considerations limit the feasibility and justifiability of learner and educator use. Without formal legislation, governance, resource provision and training, the use of TikTok by clinical educators is practically unrealistic and offers unacceptable educational, academic, personal and professional risks to both learners and educators.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.