The Power of Social Media in the Promotion and Tenure of Clinician Educators

Twitter Chats as an Alternative to Discussion Boards in Graduate Nursing Courses

BACKGROUND

Health care is increasingly dependent on technology and social media for communication. Nurse educators are tasked with developing a nursing workforce equipped with digital literacy to deliver safe, quality patient care. Twitter (now X) chats are an alternative social engagement opportunity for online nursing education students that can facilitate digital literacy.

METHOD

The instructor of an 8-week online nursing education course revised three required discussions as Twitter chats. Written instructions for the Twitter chats were provided, as well as a podcast. Self-report data and Twitter analytics were analyzed.

RESULTS

Findings identified the benefits of incorporating a social media platform into traditional coursework. Chats helped students view course objectives in a new light and increased understanding of class content.

CONCLUSION

Twitter is a social media technology that can help nursing students educationally and professionally. [J Nurs Educ. 2024;63(X):XXX-XXX.].

Using social media for patient care, research, and professional development: A North American Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition position paper

The advent of social media has changed numerous aspects of modern life, with users developing and maintaining personal and professional relationships, following and sharing breaking news and importantly, searching for and disseminating health information and medical research. In the present paper, we reviewed available literature to outline the potential uses, pitfalls and impacts of social media for providers, scientists and institutions involved in digestive health in the domains of patient care, research and professional development. We recommend that these groups become more active participants on social media platforms to combat misinformation, advocate for patients, and curate and disseminate valuable research and educational materials. We also recommend that societies such as NASPGHAN assist its members in accessing training on effective social media use and the creation and maintenance of public-facing profiles and that academic institutions incorporate substantive social media contributions into academic promotion processes.

A randomized, controlled trial of an innovative, multimedia instructional program for acquiring auditory skill in identifying pediatric heart murmurs

Objective

To create a brief, acceptable, innovative method for self-paced learning to enhance recognition of pediatric heart murmurs by medical students, and to demonstrate this method's effectiveness in a randomized, controlled trial.

Materials and methods

A curriculum of six 10-min online learning modules was designed to enable deliberate practice of pediatric cardiac auscultation, using recordings of patients' heart murmurs. Principles of andragogy and multimedia learning were applied to optimize acquisition of this skill. A pretest and posttest, given 4 weeks apart, were created using additional recordings and administered to 87 3rd-year medical students during their pediatric clerkship. They were randomized to have access to the modules after the pretest or after the posttest, and asked to use at least the first 2 of the modules.

Results

47 subjects comprised the Intervention group, and 40 subjects the Control group. On our primary outcome, distinguishing innocent from pathological with at least moderate confidence, the posttest scores were significantly higher for the Intervention group (60.5%) than for the Control group (20.0%). For our secondary outcomes, the 2 groups also differed significantly in the ability to distinguish innocent from pathological murmurs, and in identifying the actual diagnosis. On all 3 outcomes, those Intervention group subjects who accessed 4-6 modules scored higher than those who accessed 0-3 modules, who in turn scored higher than the Control group.

Summary

Applying current principles of adult learning, we have created a teaching program for medical students to learn to recognize common pediatric murmurs. Its effectiveness was demonstrated in a randomized, controlled trial. The program results in a meaningful gain in this skill from 1 h of self-paced training with high acceptance to learners.

Implementation and Evaluation of a Novel Media Education Curriculum for Pediatric Residents

Introduction

Despite increasing awareness of media exposure to children and adolescents and the known value of media education for physicians, residency programs lack formal media education.

Methods

We designed an interactive curriculum for pediatric residents to teach health effects of media as well as screening and counseling strategies. Instructional methods were based on constructivism, experiential learning, and situated learning theories. Participants independently reflected on a media viewing, then participated in two facilitator-led 1-hour workshops of two to three residents. Facilitators received speaker notes based on American Academy of Pediatrics media guidelines. Changes in knowledge, reported skills, and attitudes were assessed by pre- and posttests.

Results

Twenty-one residents completed the curriculum from September 2021 through April 2022. Knowledge improved after the curriculum as the median score increased from 3 to 5 out of 6, although 4 months later it was insignificant. Reported skills in screening did not significantly change. Residents strongly agreed that media use was an important health issue, with medians of 9 or 10 out of 10 on all tests. Attitudes regarding residency preparedness and confidence in screening and counseling significantly improved from pretest medians of 6 and 6 out of 10, respectively, to posttest medians of 8 and 9 to 4-month posttest medians of 6 and 8.

Discussion

A media curriculum for pediatric residents resulted in improved knowledge and attitudes. Enhanced attitudes demonstrated sustainability. All participants found the curriculum relevant and engaging and felt it should be continued.

The evolution of social media in nephrology education: A mini-review

Social media is defined as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content". Social media can be used in medical education to enhance knowledge sharing among peer groups and the public in general. The internet revolutionized learning by allowing easier dissemination of knowledge that did not depend on printing and physical distribution of books, journals, or magazines. According to a report from 2018, 95% of students have access to smartphones and 45% are online at any given time. Social media platforms are powerful tools to spread knowledge by the way of stories, videos, and educational games. Both formal and informal learning can be achieved with the use of social media. The microblogging website Twitter has become a popular social media platform by many in medical education including the nephrology community. Twitter, for example, is used to build communities, discuss journal articles, inform the community of conferences, share infographics and visual abstracts of original research work. As an example, it can be difficult for women in nephrology to connect and travel to make a physical presence. The use of social media allows women to connect via webinars and Women in Nephrology (WIN) India live Twitter chats. Thus, social media can help facilitate networking and collaboration with nephrologists all over the world. Social media has limitations as well. Insensitive posts can have a detrimental effect on one's career. A survey has shown that increased use of social media can contribute to addiction, anxiety, diminished self-esteem, and even depression. Hence, in order to effectively use social media to contribute positively to one's career, we recommend considering the positive and negative aspects of social media.This review will discuss the various social media platforms and how they have been applied to nephrology education.

Be in the Digital Room Where it Happens, Part I: Tweeting & Technology for Career Development

Social media has become a part of everyday life. It has changed the way we obtain and distribute information, connect, and interact with others. As the number of platforms and users grow, medical professionals have learned the value social media can have in education, research, advocacy, and clinical care initiatives. Platforms provide opportunities to network, build collaborations, and develop a reputation. This is part one of a two-part series. This article provides an overview on how social media can benefit professional career development for clinicians and researchers, as well as for advocacy to raise awareness against biases, disparities, and for patient benefit. We review challenges, limitations, and best practices for social media use by medical professionals with neurology-specific examples.

Comparison of Social Media Utilization Among Vascular Surgeons, Interventional Cardiologists, and Interventional Radiologists at Academic Training Institutions

BACKGROUND

Social media platforms, especially Twitter, are increasingly utilized across medical practice, education, and research. However, little is known about differences in social media use among physicians of varying specialties and its impact on recruitment of trainees. Our objective was to describe differences in social media use among vascular interventional proceduralists at academic training institutions.

METHODS

We identified institutions with training programs in vascular surgery (VS), interventional radiology (IR), and interventional cardiology (IC). Faculty providers were identified in each specialty at these institutions. A standardized search was used to identify non-anonymous social media profiles on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter in September 2019. Influencers were defined as physicians with more than 1,000 Twitter followers. Follow ratio was defined as the number of followers divided by the number of accounts followed. Between-specialty differences were analyzed.

RESULTS

A total of 1,330 providers (n = 454 VS, n=451 IR, n = 425 IC) were identified across 47 institutions in 27 states. Across all physicians, a minority of providers utilize social media (Facebook: 24.9%, n = 331; Instagram: 10.8%, n = 143; Twitter: 18.0%, n = 240). VS were significantly more likely to use Instagram (P = 0.001) but there was not a significant difference in utilization of Facebook and Twitter. Among Twitter users, VS had fewer followers on average (median 178, inter-quartile range [IQR] 39-555) than IR (median 272, IQR 50-793, P = 0.26) and IC (median 286, IQR 71-1257, P = 0.052). IC were most likely to be influencers (30.9%, n = 25) followed by IR (17.9%, n = 15) and VS (10.7%, n = 8, P = 0.006). On average, interventional cardiologists had the highest follow ratio (mean 4.9 ± 7.1) compared to interventional radiologists (mean 3.2 ± 5.5) and vascular surgeons (mean 2.5 ± 3.3, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

A minority of academic vascular interventional proceduralists utilize social media in a non-anonymous manner. On Twitter, interventional cardiologists are most likely to be influencers based on number of followers and, on average, have the highest follow ratio. Vascular surgeons could potentially benefit from pursuing greater influence and visibility on social media as a means to recruit trainees.

Making Social Media Work for You

Social media (SoMe) can be an effective professional tool for the gastroenterologist or trainee. SoMe can support a gastroenterologist's efforts to brand themselves, network, learn, educate, and advocate for patients. SoMe for professional use should be approached with specific aims in mind, in order to optimize impact and productivity.