Twitter Use Among Departments of Surgery With General Surgery Residency Programs

Cross sectional study of Twitter (X) use among academic anesthesiology departments in the United States

Twitter (recently renamed X) is used by academic anesthesiology departments as a social media platform for various purposes. We hypothesized that Twitter (X) use would be prevalent among academic anesthesiology departments and that the number of tweets would vary by region, physician faculty size, and National Institutes of Health (NIH) research funding rank. We performed a descriptive study of Twitter (X) use by academic anesthesiology departments (i.e. those with a residency program) in 2022. Original tweets were collected using a Twitter (X) analytics tool. Summary statistics were reported for tweet number and content. The median number of tweets was compared after stratifying by region, physician faculty size, and NIH funding rank. Among 166 academic anesthesiology departments, there were 73 (44.0%) that had a Twitter (X) account in 2022. There were 3,578 original tweets during the study period and the median number of tweets per department was 21 (25th-75th = 0, 75) with most tweets (55.8%) announcing general departmental news and a smaller number highlighting social events (12.5%), research (11.1%), recruiting (7.1%), DEI activities (5.2%), and trainee experiences (4.1%). There was no significant difference in the median number of tweets by region (P = 0.81). The median number of tweets differed significantly by physician faculty size (P<0.001) with larger departments tweeting more and also by NIH funding rank (P = 0.005) with highly funded departments tweeting more. In 2022, we found that less than half of academic anesthesiology departments had a Twitter (X) account, and the median number of annual tweets per account was relatively low. Overall, Twitter (X) use was less common than anticipated among academic anesthesiology departments and most tweets focused on promotion of departmental activities or individual faculty. There may be opportunities for more widespread and effective use of Twitter (X) by academic anesthesiology departments including education about anesthesiology as a specialty.

Virtual interviews for resident and fellow recruitment

Since 2020, all general surgery residency interviews have been mandatorily virtual, elevating the importance of social media and online reputation management for applicants and residency programs. This article highlights how virtual interviews changed the way programs and applicants engage each other online, including some pros and cons of these new interactions.

Twitter-based gender recognition using transformers

Social media contains useful information about people and society that could help advance research in many different areas of health (e.g. by applying opinion mining, emotion/sentiment analysis and statistical analysis) such as mental health, health surveillance, socio-economic inequality and gender vulnerability. User demographics provide rich information that could help study the subject further. However, user demographics such as gender are considered private and are not freely available. In this study, we propose a model based on transformers to predict the user's gender from their images and tweets. The image-based classification model is trained in two different methods: using the profile image of the user and using various image contents posted by the user on Twitter. For the first method a Twitter gender recognition dataset, publicly available on Kaggle and for the second method the PAN-18 dataset is used. Several transformer models, i.e. vision transformers (ViT), LeViT and Swin Transformer are fine-tuned for both of the image datasets and then compared. Next, different transformer models, namely, bidirectional encoders representations from transformers (BERT), RoBERTa and ELECTRA are fine-tuned to recognize the user's gender by their tweets. This is highly beneficial, because not all users provide an image that indicates their gender. The gender of such users could be detected from their tweets. The significance of the image and text classification models were evaluated using the Mann-Whitney U test. Finally, the combination model improved the accuracy of image and text classification models by 11.73 and 5.26% for the Kaggle dataset and by 8.55 and 9.8% for the PAN-18 dataset, respectively. This shows that the image and text classification models are capable of complementing each other by providing additional information to one another. Our overall multimodal method has an accuracy of 88.11% for the Kaggle and 89.24% for the PAN-18 dataset and outperforms state-of-the-art models. Our work benefits research that critically require user demographic information such as gender to further analyze and study social media content for health-related issues.

A Scoping Review of Physician Advocacy on Twitter

Twitter has been adopted by physicians across most medical specialties; it allows for the wide dissemination of information and calls to action, brings new stakeholders into collations, promotes academic engagement, and fosters collaboration between academia and private practice. In this review of the literature, we briefly outline the state of advocacy in health care and summarize current Twitter-based advocacy efforts in the major specialties of health care, identifying both successful strategies as well as gaps in Twitter advocacy research. Relevant articles were obtained via PubMed and Google Scholar searches using the phrases "Twitter advocacy healthcare," "[specialty name] Twitter" and "[specialty name] Twitter advocacy." Several overarching themes were found to be widely utilized in specialty-specific discussions of Twitter advocacy efforts: organizing under a specific hashtag, fostering dialogue between stakeholders, and tweeting using personalized, action-oriented language. Fields such as pediatrics, heme/onc, ENT, and ophthalmology have most thoroughly embraced the desire to learn how to most effectively advocate on Twitter. Other fields such as OBGYN, cardiology, and surgery have less academic focus on online advocacy. Outside of advocacy efforts, the research and academic benefits of Twitter are well described in nearly every specialty. In conclusion, while clinicians are encouraged to advocate online, only broad strategies for online engagement are currently offered. Additional research into the details of how to successfully create an online profile and Twitter presence is needed to ensure all physicians are able to maximize their advocacy efforts, with clarification of the goals and objectives of this engagement also required.

Thriving in the Virtual Era: An Organized Approach to Improve Program Visibility and Virtual Residency Interview Process

OBJECTIVE

Since residency interviews became virtual due to COVID-19, and likely continue in the future, programs must find ways to improve their non-traditional recruiting methods. The objective of this study was to evaluate effectiveness of a structured, non-traditional approach on visibility and perception of the program as well as virtual interview experience.

METHODS

The focus of our approach was to ensure constant engagement while maintaining all pre-interview communication as resident-led and informal. The program focused on improving visibility and outreach through an organized utilization of social media platforms highlighting people and local culture. The virtual interview process was restructured with resident-led virtual meet and greets followed by small group discussions and providing virtual hospital tours, videos, and slides of the program's culture and expectationson the interview day. Perception of the program and the new approach to the interview process was assessed via an anonymous survey.

RESULTS

The program's visibility was measured via social media analytics with an increase in reach on Facebook from 0/post to as high as 4200/post and engagement 2/post to nearly 600/post. Tweet Impressions from approximately 350/mo to 11,000/mo with the increase in new Followers/month by 532.5%. Increase in total number of applicants in 2021 of 16% compared to average between 2018 and 2020. Survey response rate was 66.1%; of those 53.8% of interviewees attended a virtual meet and greet session. Perceptions of interviewees on our program was exclusively positive. Specific characteristics of the program that would make students rank us higher were program's culture, people, academics, and clinical experiences they would get as residents.

CONCLUSIONS

The exponential increase in our program's visibility and exclusively positive program assessment suggest that a structured approach utilizing social media and virtual technologies could improve both the recruitment and the virtual interview process while maintaining positive perceptions of the program.

General Surgery Residency Applicants' Perspective on Social Media as a Recruiting Tool

OBJECTIVE

General surgery residency programs have increased their social media presence to educate and recruit prospective residents. This study aims to understand the impact of general surgery residency program social media on the 2020-2021 applicants' evaluation of prospective programs, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

DESIGN

An optional 20-item online survey regarding specialty choice, sub-internship rotation completion, social media resource use, social media impact, and general demographic information.

SETTING

Large academic medical center, United States.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 1191 Participants to our general surgery residency program were sent a survey. Six hundred thirteen completed the survey.

RESULTS

Surveys were sent to all general surgery residency applicants of a single program (1,191) and 613 (51.4%) responded. Overall, social media resources use included official residency program website (92.4%), Doximity (36.5%), and Twitter (35.6%). The most frequently relied upon resources by applicants were the official residency program website (64.9%) Twitter (10.9%) and Instagram (10.8%). Most respondents agreed that social media was an effective means to inform applicants (70.9%) and that it positively impacted their perception of the program (62.6%). The most commonly cited benefits were helping the program exhibit its culture and comradery among residents, faculty, and staff (79.2%), with posts of social events and camaraderie as being the most helpful in learning about residency programs. Of all applicants, 71.3% noted that social media had a significant impact on perceptions of programs during the application cycles that were limited by COVID-19 safety and travel restrictions. However, most applicants disagree with (35.3%) or are neutral toward (32.1%) the statement that social media will have less of an impact on future cycles not limited by COVID-19.

CONCLUSION

During the 2020-2021 application cycle, the majority of applicants utilized social media to inform and educate themselves about the general surgery programs they applied to. Residency-based social media had a positive impact on the majority of applicants, especially in terms of allowing a program to demonstrate its culture and camaraderie. Investing time and resources into residency social media accounts appears to be a meaningful pursuit for general surgery programs and is an important aspect in today's recruitment effort.

Worldwide Presence of National Anesthesia Societies on Four Major Social Networks in 2021: Observational Case Study

Background

Although the presence of medical societies on social networks (SNs) could be interesting for disseminating professional information, there is no study investigating their presence on SNs.

Objective

The aim of this viewpoint is to describe the worldwide presence and activity of national anesthesia societies on SNs.

Methods

This observational study assessed the active presence (≥1 post in the year preceding the collection date) of the World Federation of Societies of Anesthesiologists member societies on the SNs Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. We collected data concerning each anesthesia society on the World Federation of Societies of Anesthesiologists website.

Results

Among the 136 societies, 66 (48.5%) had an active presence on at least one SN. The most used SN was Facebook (n=60, 44.1%), followed by Twitter (n=37, 27.2%), YouTube (n=26, 19.1%), and Instagram (n=16, 11.8%). The SN with the largest number of followers was Facebook for 52 (78.8%) societies and Twitter for 12 (18.2%) societies. The number of followers was 361 (IQR 75-1806) on Twitter, 2494 (IQR 1049-5369) on Facebook, 1400 (IQR 303-3058) on Instagram, and 214 (IQR 33-955) on YouTube. There was a strong correlation between the number of posts and the number of followers on Twitter (r=0.95, 95% CI 0.91-0.97; P<.001), Instagram (r=0.83, 95% CI 0.58-0.94; P<.001), and YouTube (r=0.69, 95% CI 0.42-0.85; P<.001). According to the density of anesthetists in the country, there was no difference between societies with and without active SN accounts.

Conclusions

Less than half of national anesthesia societies have at least one active account on SNs. Twitter and Facebook are the most used SNs.

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.

A Meta-Analytical Review on the Effect of Twitter Use in Education

The recent decade has been witnessing an increasing number of studies committed to the use of Twitter in education. It is necessary to determine the effect of Twitter use on education through a meta-analytical review since related meta-analyses are scanty and previous findings are inconsistent. By searching a number of databases, we selected 23 publications to examine the effect of the use of Twitter in education. It is concluded that the use of Twitter exerts a significant and positive effect on general education (d = 0.40), that the use of Twitter exerts a significant and positive effect on academic achievements in education (d = 0.63), and that there are no significant gender differences in the effect of Twitter use in education (d = 0.54). Other social media could also be included in future research into the effect of their use on education.

Audience of Academic Otolaryngology on Twitter: Cross-sectional Study

BACKGROUND

Despite the ubiquity of social media, the utilization and audience reach of this communication method by otolaryngology-head and neck surgery (OHNS) residency programs has not been investigated.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the content posted to a popular social media platform (Twitter) by OHNS residency programs.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, we identified Twitter accounts for accredited academic OHNS residency programs. Tweets published over a 6-month period (March to August 2019) were extracted. Tweets were categorized and analyzed for source (original versus retweet) and target audience (medical versus layman). A random sample of 100 tweets was used to identify patterns of content, which were then used to categorize additional tweets. We quantified the total number of likes or retweets by health care professionals.

RESULTS

Of the 121 accredited programs, 35 (28.9%) had Twitter accounts. Of the 2526 tweets in the 6-month period, 1695 (67.10%) were original-content tweets. The majority of tweets (1283/1695, 75.69%) were targeted toward health care workers, most of which did not directly contain medical information (954/1283, 74.36%). These tweets contained information about the department's trainees and education (349/954, 36.6%), participation at conferences (263/954, 27.6%), and research publications (112/954, 11.7%). Two-thirds of all tweets did not contain medical information. Medical professionals accounted for 1249/1362 (91.70%) of retweets and 5616/6372 (88.14%) of likes on original-content tweets.

CONCLUSIONS

The majority of Twitter usage by OHNS residency programs is for intra and interprofessional communication, and only a minority of tweets contain information geared toward the public. Communication and information sharing with patients is not the focus of OHNS departments on Twitter.

Medical Education e-Professionalism (MEeP) framework; from conception to development

BACKGROUND

Medical professionalism education intends to produce virtuous and humanistic healthcare professionals who demonstrate perseverance and professional integrity. However, today's medicine has embodied a mammoth transformation of medical practice towards sns and the digital realm. Such paradigm shift has challenged the medical professional's values, behaviors, and identities, and the distinct boundaries between personal and professional lives are blurred. This study aims to develop a framework for healthcare professionals coping with the challenges of medical professionalism in the digital realm.

METHODS

We followed a systematic approach for the development of a framework about e-professionalism. Qualitative data was collected from a systematic review and a delphi study, while quantitative data was collected by administering a validated questionnaire social networking sites for medical education (snsme). Subsequently, categorization of the selected data and identifying concepts, deconstruction and further categorizing concepts (philosophical triangulation), integration of concepts (theoretical triangulation), and synthesis and resynthesis of concepts were performed.

RESULTS

The initial process yielded six overlapping concepts from personal, professional, character (implicit) and characteristic (explicit) domains: environment, behavior, competence, virtues, identity, and mission. Further integration of data was done for the development of the medical education e-professionalism (meep) framework with a central concept of a commitment to mission. The mission showed deep connections with values (conformity, beneficence, universalism, and integrity), behaviours (communication, self-awareness, tolerance, power), and identity (reflection, conscientiousness, self-directed, self-actualization). The data demonstrated that all medical professionals require updated expertise in sns participation.

CONCLUSION

The meep framework recognises a mission-based social contract by the medical community. This mission is largely driven by professional values, behaviors and identity. Adherence to digital standards, accountability, empathy, sensitivity, and commitment to society are essential elements of the meep framework.

Characterizing the social media footprint of general surgery residency programs

Background

The medical community has increasingly embraced social media for a variety of purposes, including trainee education, research dissemination, professional networking, and recruitment of trainees and faculty. Platform choice and usage patterns appear to vary by specialty and purpose, but few studies comprehensively assess programs’ social media presence. Prior studies assessed general surgery departments’ Twitter use but omitted additional social media platforms and residency-specific accounts.

Objective

This study sought to broadly characterize the social media footprint of U.S. general surgery residency programs.

Methods

Using a protocolized search of program websites, social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn), and internet search, cross-sectional data on social media usage in March 2020 were collected for programs, their affiliated departments, their program directors (PDs), and their assistant/associate PDs (APDs).

Results

318 general surgery residency programs, 313 PDs, and 296 APDs were identified. 47.2% of programs had surgery-specific accounts on ≥1 platform. 40.2% of PDs and APDs had ≥1 account on Twitter and/or LinkedIn. Program type was associated with social media adoption and Twitter utilization, with lower usage among university-affiliated and independent programs (p<0.01).

Conclusions

Most general surgery residencies, especially non-university-based programs, lacked any department or residency accounts across Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram by March 2020. These findings highlight opportunities for increased social media engagement and act as a pre-pandemic baseline for future investigations of how the shift to virtual trainee education, recruitment, conferences, and clinical care affect social media use.

An evaluation of social media utilization by general surgery programs in the COVID-19 era

Background

Our study investigates how general surgery residency programs utilized social media to adapt to the challenges of COVID-19.

Methods

319 participating general surgery residency programs provided by the Electronic Residency Application Service were analyzed in this study. Associated Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook accounts were assessed to find virtual open houses and externships.

Results

Of the 319 program, 188 (59%) were found to have a social media presence. A total of 348 social media accounts were found, as some of the programs had separate residency and department accounts. Of all the social media accounts, 112 (32%) of the accounts were created after March 1, 2020. Virtual open houses opportunities were found to be advertised across all platforms.

Conclusion

Many general surgery programs responded to the physical limitations of COVID-19 pandemic by increasingly utilizing social media during the COVID-19 pandemic. Virtual opportunities should be considered as a novel approach for future outreach and recruitment.

Social Media in Surgery

Social media has become a permeating form of communication with billions of daily users. Twitter in particular has become a tool for the surgical community to engage with other providers, as well as patients, through active online discussions, sharing of research, and highlighting opportunities for community outreach. Twitter can help with personal branding, mentorship, and international collaboration on multiple types of academic endeavors. Likewise, institutional and residency programs can harness the power of social media to develop an online presence and aid in resident recruitment.