Uso de las redes sociales por parte de los cirujanos generales. Resultados de la encuesta nacional de la Asociación Española de Cirujanos

Participation of latin american surgeons in twitter using the hashtag #SoMe4Surgery and #SoMe4IQLatAm

Background

In medicine, social networks contribute to the professional training because it is a way to improve the knowledge and skills of students, residents and specialists; additionally, these networks allow the dissemination of evidence. However, Latin American surgeons' influence within this social network is not highlighted. In this study, using the hashtags #SoMe4Surgery and #SoMe4IQLatAm, the participation of Latin American surgeons in Twitter is established.

Study Design

This is a prospective cross-sectional study of the academic tweets published in the period between October 13 and October 19, 2020, on Twitter by the academic accounts @Cirbosque and @MISIRG1 who are users of the social network Twitter in Latin America who participate in the network with the hashtags #SoMe4Surgery and #SoMe4IQLatAm with academic use.

Results

A total of 56 tweets and 665 retweets were analyzed. Male sex presents greater interaction, as well as Mondays and Tuesdays week days. Geolocation was recorded as 37.1% in Latin America and 17.6% in Europe. #SoMe4Surgery was mentioned in 31 tweets and generated 211,700 impressions and 25,557 interactions, and #SoMe4IQLatam was mentioned in 25 tweets and achieved 57,585 impressions and 21,901 interactions. A growth of the participation rate of 6.5% in @Cirbosque and 10.5% in @ MISIRG1 was estimated for 2021.

Conclusion

The use of social networks, particularly Twitter, in the surgeon community has proven to be a valuable tool during the last decade. The tweet that needs to be shared among more surgeons should be linked to the hashtag #SoMe4IQLatAm and #SoMe4Surgery and Twitter surgeon leaders mentions.

What Surgeons Want: Access to Online Surgical Education and Peer-to-Peer Counseling-A Qualitative Study

Study Design

Mixed methods study including quantitative data analysis and qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews.

Objectives

Utilizing information and communication technology can facilitate professional communication within health care on a global scale. This study aimed to identify the educational and peer-to-peer communication needs of craniomaxillofacial (CMF) surgeons across the globe, determine preferred modes of communication, and assess technological and other barriers to online education and peer-to-peer communication.

Methods

We performed semi-structured videoconference interviews of 92 CMF surgeons from around the globe, with the largest number in the Asia/Pacific region, the Middle East, and Latin America. We triangulated quantitative summaries with qualitative themes to improve validity and enable a more comprehensive understanding of participant perspectives.

Results

The interviews revealed 3 main areas of technology use: new surgical technology, technology that enables information exchange, and communication technology. When asked about technology and communication platforms used in the course of their work, 33 participants (36%) mentioned PubMed or other journal-related sites; 25% recalled using YouTube as a resource; 23% described conducting internet searches using Google or other search engines; 21% used WhatsApp groups; and 11% used closed Facebook groups.

Conclusion

CMF surgeons embraced communication technologies that allowed them to quickly obtain knowledge especially on new surgical technology, discuss cases on demand, and maintain strong communication with their global peers.

Impact of social media on the continuous education of the general surgeon, a new experience, @Cirbosque: A Latin American example

Social media has gained widespread recognition for its importance in the medical field. Such platforms play an important role for learning and teaching, because knowledge can be transmitted instantly and massively, and specialists in different world-wide locations can discuss experiences instantaneously. The present article presents our experience of using social media to facilitate surgical learning while encouraging leadership and global mentoring. This retrospective descriptive study was initiated at the time of the creation of our social media handle on Twitter, February 22, 2019. Since that time, we have posted 10,587 academic tweets; the monthly growth rate has been 9% (393 new followers per month). Currently, we have 4,213 followers, 11,241,000 impressions, 121,105 visits, and 121,105 mentions. We have reviewed 59 topics of interest in general surgery and 132 clinical cases in trauma, as well as in hepatobiliary, gastrointestinal, thoracic, and acute-care surgery. We have made 13 image challenges using illustrations of diagnostic and intraoperative images. Although the evidence is uncertain to promote education performed entirely through social media, we show that @Cirbosque has been effective, and the impact of this initiative on Twitter is appreciated by many surgeons worldwide, including renowned teachers in each of the topics addressed. Furthermore, the number of participants in the discussions increased each day, as did all impact indicators according to Twitter Analytics. Thus, we conclude that the educational message of @Cirbosque is having a positive effect and reaching thousands of people worldwide, suggesting that others can develop similar outreach programs in education and communication.