Embracing Social Media in Academic Medicine: An Anesthesiologist’s Perspective

By Sean S. Barnes, MD, MBA
Charlotte Bloomberg Children’s Center
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions

In between residency and fellowship, as I was studying for my written boards, I stumbled upon the social media platform Twitter. In two minutes while scrolling on my phone I was able to a) find a recent publication in Anesthesia & Analgesia b) be reminded that the early bird discount for a medical conference was ending, and c) interact with a photo of a colleague presenting at grand rounds. It was an eye-opening moment to recognize the breadth of anesthesia-related content available on an easily accessible platform. Since that day I have been a strong advocate of social media use in critical care and anesthesiology.

To a small minority, ‘social media’ can trigger an assortment of unpleasant emotions, but for most it is part of our everyday personal lives. Social media is a form of electronic communication through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, and personal messages. Initially social media came to popularity as a means of communicating with friends and family. However, the role of social media over the past decade has rapidly expanded. In the healthcare community there are patients, healthcare providers, hospitals, advocacy groups, medical societies, and industry all leveraging social media to promote the exchange of knowledge. 

In the publication Social Media Engagement and the Critical Care Medicine Community, Viren Kaul, Sapna Kudchadkar, and myself highlight how prevalent social media use is among physicians and patients. Sixty-five percent of physicians utilize some form of social media for professional reasons, and nearly one third of United States social media users post about their own health experiences or those of their friends and family. There are various social media platforms that have subtle advantages or disadvantages depending on the type of communication, content intended to be shared, and audience intended to receive said communication. The most well-known platforms are Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Twitter is a micro blogging service that restricts posts to 280 characters. This platform allows for users to post interesting medical cases (including echo clips), share publications, and promote academic meetings. Twitter is also known as one of the best platforms to conduct journal clubs. Users can have multiple accounts; some have a dedicated professional account that helps tailor content.

Facebook is a social networking service. This is commonly thought of as platform for engaging with family and friends. However, medical societies (including Society of Pediatric Anesthesia (SPA), Society of Pediatric Pain Medicine (SPPM), and Congenital Cardiac Anesthesia Society (CCAS) are leveraging Facebook to disseminate content to society members, the scientific community, as well as, patients and families. This link will direct you to the CCASS Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PedsCardiacAnes/

Instagram is a photograph and video sharing service now owned by Facebook. Again, this is typically a platform associated with friends and families, however, medical professionals and medical societies often have accounts intended to reach these stakeholders.

Twitter is the most widely accepted social media platform for healthcare professionals and is highly utilized by stakeholders caring for children with congenital heart disease. As pediatric cardiac anesthesiologists, we operate in a landscape that includes pediatric anesthesiologists, cardiac surgeons, cardiologists, interventional cardiologists, cardiac intensivists, and patients. The social media platform Twitter allows for these various stakeholders to easily engage. The link for the CCAS Twitter account is https://twitter.com/pedscardiacanes. I’ve highlighted a few of the Twitter accounts relating to pediatric cardiac anesthesia I follow:

SPA & CCAS have a growing presence on Twitter. Since the Annual Meeting, CCAS (@PedsCardiacAnes) has had a 38% increase in followers and a 16% uptick in engagement of posts. Twitter hashtags relevant to CCAS members include those relating to pediatric cardiac anesthesia (#PedsCardsAnes) pediatric anesthesia (#PedsAnes and #PedsPain), pediatric cardiology (#PedsCards), and pediatric critical care (#PedsICU and #PedsCICU). I would encourage all members of CCAS to have a presence on Twitter and have included some pointers for those who still need to join or have newly joined.

Follow these four easy steps to join Twitter and start tweeting:

I have also included definitions for Twitter specific terminology that can seem confusing to new users.

Equipped with a professional Twitter account and the basic fundamentals of terminology anyone can integrate social media into their professional career. Yes, even that one coworker who has difficulty distinguishing between Twitter and Facebook can use social media. For those who remain skeptical regarding professional social media engagement, I urge you to recognize how social media is shaping healthcare and the field of pediatric anesthesiology. I look forward to engaging with you on Twitter, just mention me (@DrSeanBarnes) in a tweet!