Introduction
Imagine you are attending a prominent national radiology conference. It is filled with thousands of participants eager to discover, learn, and share with one another. There are trainees, practicing academic radiologists, scientists, health-care administrators, and industry representatives. The topics discussed at this annual meeting include some of the most critical challenges facing academic radiologists: how to increase value; the role of artificial intelligence in radiology; diversity of the workforce; physician well-being, and how to convert scientific discovery into innovation.
You are one of the lucky members in your department to attend this valuable conference. Over the course of several days, you interact with dozens of colleagues about these important topics. You ask questions, meet new people, gain insights, and change your own perspectives. You look forward to returning so that you can implement your learning to benefit patients, trainees, or referring physicians.
As the meeting ends, you can’t wait to return next year. While punching in the airport code into your rideshare app, you wonder if there is a way to (1) maintain this level of learning and interactivity; (2) remain connected with hundreds of other people in near real time—without having to wait 51 more weeks for next year’s meeting; (3) capture the myriad ideas and perspectives of attendees; (4) be exposed to more cognitive diversity than you would ordinarily experience at your home institution; and (5) share the meeting experience alongside your colleagues back home.
There is a way to accomplish all of these goals, and more—it is called social media, defined as “electronic communication for which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content.”
Starting with Why
Rather than focusing on what the most used social media platforms are or how they function ( Fig 1 ), let’s focus on why social media is critical to the future of learning in radiology. For over a century, radiology has positioned itself as the leading medical specialty to develop and apply new imaging and information technologies to benefit patients. We are the Silicon Valley of medical specialties, comfortable in our roles as innovators and early adopters. From this lens, social media is simply another technology that we can harness to amplify collective learning and expand our impact. There are three important reasons why social media is important to our future.
To Inspire Others at Scale
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Curate a Medical Information Network
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To Identify with Larger Communities
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Limitations
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Call to Action
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References
1. Merriam-Webster : Social media. Available at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/social%20media
2. Pew Research Center : Which social media platforms are most popular. Available at: http://www.pewinternet.org/chart/which-social-media-platforms-are-most-popular/
3. Ranginwala S., Towbin A.: Use of social media in radiology education. J Am Coll Radiol 2018; 15: pp. 190-200. ISSN 1546-1440
4. Pew Research Center : Social media fact sheet. Available at: http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheet/social-media/
5. Prabhu V., Rosenkrantz A.B.: Enriched audience engagement through Twitter: should more academic radiology departments seize the opportunity?. J Am Coll Radiol 2015; 12: pp. 756-759.
6. Kotsenas A.L., Makala A., Aase L., et. al.: The strategic imperative for the use of social media in health care. J Am Coll Radiol 2017; 15: pp. 155-161.
7. Kind T., Patel P.D., Lie D., et. al.: Twelve tips for using social media as a medical educator. Med Teach 2013; 4: pp. 284-290.
8. Lindsay Kolowich : How to use hashtags on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram. Available at: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/hashtags-twitter-facebook-instagram
9. Wadhwa V., Brandis A., Madassery K., et. al.: #TwittIR: understanding and establishing a Twitter ecosystem for interventional radiologists and their practices. J Am Coll Radiol 2017; 15: pp. 218-223.
10. Ventola C.L.: Social media and health care professionals: benefits, risks, and best practices. P T 2014; 39: pp. 491-520.