Social Media Tips to Enhance Medical Education

In this article, we describe how social media can supplement traditional education, articulate the advantages and disadvantages of various social media platforms for both teachers and learners, discuss best practices to maintain confidentiality of protected health information, and provide tips for implementing social media-based teaching into the training curriculum.

Introduction

Social media are online tools that allow individuals and groups to create content, share information, and connect with one another in virtual communities. The millennial generation, roughly those born between 1980 and 2000, have an almost universal smartphone ownership and usage. Consequently, millenials already spend a great deal of time using social media: 96% of students with Internet access use social media generally and 60% use social media specifically to discuss educational topics . In medicine, one study found that 94% of medical students, 79% of medical residents, and 42% of practicing physicians use social media . For learning, this generation favors technology over traditional media such as textbooks and journals, has become accustomed to instant access to information, and expects to be entertained even while learning. These factors make social media an ideal educational tool.

With social media you can reach one or more of multiple audiences: radiology residents and fellows, medical students, other health-care providers, and even patients and their families. Social media require minimal technological resources but do require a time commitment. Content consumption and creation can happen any time, in any place, and by any user. Once created, social media content can be reposted on multiple platforms to reach a larger target audience.

Before we delve further into the use of social media for radiology education, it is important to review and understand social media terminology ( Table 1 ).

TABLE 1

Social Media Terminology

Term Definition Fans or followers People who subscribe to your content Views Number of people who have viewed a post Likes or favorites A connection to a post, greater level of interest than a view Share or retweet Repost of content thought to be of interest to a user’s own fans or followers, greater interest than like Reach Number of people who may have potentially seen a page or a post; includes fans or followers of shared content Engagement Collective number of views, likes, and shares Hashtag # followed by a single word or phrase, used to search and filter content on a particular topic #FOAMRad Free open access medical education, radiology

Social media platforms have a global reach and massive user base. At the time of this writing, Facebook (Facebook, Menlo Park, CA) has the largest share of the market with over 1.5 billion active users worldwide. Other popular media such as Instagram (Facebook, Menlo Park, CA) and Twitter (Twitter, San Francisco, CA) have 400 million and 320 million active users, respectively .

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Facebook

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Twitter

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Instagram

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Figure 1

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YouTube

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Blogs

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#FOAMRad

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Comparison Between Platforms

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TABLE 2

Comparison of Social Media Platforms

Facebook Twitter Instagram Figure 1 YouTube Character count in captions 63,000 140 2,200 599 5,000 Maximum number of images Unlimited Four per post One per post Five per post Video-only platform Maximum length of video 45 min 2 min and 20 s 1 min Video not supported, scrollable stacks of up to 20-MB file size can be uploaded >1 h Format of responses and comments Nested comments Replies and quote retweets Un-nested comments Nested comments Un-nested comments Image manipulation Inbuilt tools to enhance images, no marking up tools Inbuilt tools to enhance images, no marking up tools Inbuilt tools to apply image filters, no marking up tools Inbuilt tools to anonymize and mark up with arrows Inbuilt tools to enhance videos, no marking up tools Clickable rich links in captions supported? Yes Yes No No Yes

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Protecting Patient Information

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TABLE 3

Guidelines to Maintain Etiquette and Professional Behavior on Social Media

Write only that which one would say out loud in a room full of friends and strangers. Remember that you are representing not only yourself but also your profession. Communications on social media are in the public domain and are subject to the same laws and rules as other means of communication such as public lectures and e-mail. If using an account for both personal and professional use, consider carefully what is said in the personal domain. Be polite and respectful when others may disagree with your point of view. Stick to stating scientifically and evidence-backed facts. Patients may use social media to glean information about their own medical conditions; avoid dispensing medical advice to patients over social media.

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TABLE 4

Tips for Incorporating Social Media in Education

Content Platform Use deidentified images and approximate ages. Ensure the profile used is “professional.” Avoid posting “sensational” cases. Start with one or two platforms then build to cross-posting on multiple platforms as you grow your audience and content. Store images securely on password-protected drives. Use appropriate hashtags to allow content to be discovered. Seek patient consent if posting a rare case. Engage with followers to foster educational relationships. It takes time to build a following. Do not get obsessed with numbers!

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Conclusion

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Acknowledgments

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References

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Social Media Tips to Enhance Medical Education

Introduction

Social Media Terminology

Social Media Platforms for Education

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Figure 1

YouTube

Blogs

#FOAMRad

Comparison Between Platforms

Protecting Patient Information

Etiquette and Professional Behavior on Social Media

Disadvantages of Social Media in Education

Tips for Incorporating Social Media in Education

Conclusion

Acknowledgments

References

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