Tweeting from the Bench: Twitter and the Physician-Scientist Benefits and Challenges
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SOCIAL MEDIA IMPACT OF HEMATOLOGIC MALIGNANCIES (N PEMMARAJU, SECTION EDITOR)
Tweeting from the Bench: Twitter and the Physician-Scientist Benefits and Challenges Jessica S. Little 1,2
&
Rizwan Romee 2,3
Accepted: 4 November 2020 / Published online: 11 November 2020 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Purpose of Review Social media platforms such as Twitter are increasingly utilized to interact, collaborate, and exchange information within the academic medicine community. However, as Twitter begins to become formally incorporated into professional meetings, educational activities, and even the consideration of academic promotion, it is critical to better understand both the benefits and challenges posed by this platform. Recent Findings Twitter use is rising amongst healthcare providers nationally and internationally, including in the field of hematology and oncology. Participation on Twitter at national conferences such as the annual meetings of American Society of Hematology (ASH) and American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has steadily increased over recent years. Tweeting can be used advantageously to cultivate opportunities for networking or collaboration, promote one’s research and increase access to other’s research, and provide efficient means of learning and educating. However, given the novelty of this platform and little formal training on its use, concerns regarding patient privacy, professionalism, and equity must be considered. Summary These new technologies present unique opportunities for career development, networking, research advancement, and efficient learning. From “tweet ups” to Twitter journal clubs, physician-scientists are quickly learning how to capitalize on the opportunities that this medium offers. Yet caution must be exercised to ensure that the information exchanged is valid and true, that professionalism is maintained, that patient privacy is protected, and that this platform does not reinforce preexisting structural inequalities. Keywords Twitter . Social media . Technology . Academic medicine
Introduction Social media is a rapidly evolving platform for communication that is increasingly being utilized across the academic medicine community. Twitter, a free microblogging platform, enables users to read and post 280-character messages called “Tweets” [1•, 2]. Twitter provides novel opportunities for physician-scientists to interact and collaborate across This article is part of the Topical Collection on Social Media Impact of Hematologic Malignancies * Jessica S. Little [email protected] 1
Division of Infectious Diseases, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 75 Francis Street, PBB A-4, Boston, MA 02115, USA
2
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
3
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
institutions and diverse fields. It increases access to research and enables real-time discussion of new publications [3]. Not only does it serve to disseminate information, it also may be utilized as a means to generate data [4, 5]. As
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