Twitter In Medical Education

Twitter for Medical Education – What is it and Why Should I Care? Julie K. Hewett International Association of Medical Science Educators (IAMSE)

What is Twitter?
Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets .
Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author's profile page and delivered to the author's subscribers who are known as followers . Senders can restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends or, by default, allow open access.
Source: Wikipedia (August 2009)

What is Twitter
Short & Sweet –
Twitter is:
An information sharing application that serves as a conduit for connecting people.

Twitter Basics First Step: Go to Twitter.com And create an account

Twitter Basics Second Step: Customize your Account

Twitter Basics Once you have an account, you will need to “follow” people in order to receive “Tweets” Others need to “follow” you to see your “Tweets”

Twitter Basics
Ways to find people to follow:

Twitter Basics Click to Follow Subscribe to RSS Feed Send a Direct Message

Twitter Basics
Send a Tweet

Twitter Basics
Receive
a
Response

Twitter Basics
Hashtags
Wikipedia Definition (August 2009):
In online computer systems terminology, a tag is a non-hierarchical keyword or term assigned to a piece of information (such as an internet bookmark, digital image, or computer file).
This kind of metadata helps describe an item and allows it to be found again by browsing or searching.
Tags are chosen informally and personally by the item's creator or by its viewer, depending on the system.

Twitter Basics
Short & Sweet
#Hashtag:
Method to add a reference label to a conversation for future searches
e.g., #IAMSE10 – IAMSE 2010 Conference
e.g., #MedEd – Medical Education

Twitter in Medical Education
Who is using Twitter in MedEd?
Medical Schools
Hospitals
Health Organizations
Medical Libraries
Medical Journals
Faculty Members
Students

Examples of Medical Schools using Twitter
Duke - @dukemedicine
Yale - @yalemedicine
UMDNJ @umdnj_rwms
University of Missouri SOM - @mumedicine
Ohio State Medical Center - @osumc
University of Michigan – @UMHealthSystems
University of Texas – Houston - @UTMedSchool
Dalhousie Medical School - @DalMedSchool
Leiden University Medical Center - @LUMC_Leiden

Top 5 Hospitals
Mayo Clinic – 6,639
@MayoClinic
Aurora St Luke’s – 4,869
@Aurora_Health
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital – 3,595
@StJude
Children’s National Medical Center – 3,141
@ChildrensHealth
Scripps Memorial Hospital – 3,119
@ScrippsHealth
Followers as of August 23, 2009

Examples of Health Organizations Using Twitter
World Health Organization – @WHONews
National Institute of Health - @nih_gov
Center for Disease Control - @CDCEmergency
@CDCFlu @CDC_eHealth

Examples of Medical Libraries Using Twitter
Florida Int’l Univ Medical Library - @fiumedlib
Yale Medical Library - @ymedlib
Commonweath Medical Library - @tcmclibrary
VAMC Medical Library - @vamcmedlib
Chiang Mai Thailand University Library - @cmumedlib

Examples of Medical Journals using Twitter
JAMA - @JAMA_current
British Medical Journal - @bmj_latest
Student BMJ - @StudentBMJ
American Journal of Nursing - @AmJNurs
PubMed - @ncbi_pubmed
Complete Listing - http://laikaspoetnik.wordpress.com/2009/08/04/medical-journals-on-twitter/

Let’s not forget -
Faculty Members & Students!

How can Twitter be used?
Announcements
Helping Students to Study
Gathering Resources
Sharing Resources
Promoting Activities
Sharing Employment Opportunities
Networking

Twitter in Medical Education Example of Tweets

By Medical Schools

Twitter in Medical Education Helping Students Study

Gathering Resources

Twitter in Medical Education Sharing of Resources

Twitter in Medical Education To Promote Activities

Twitter in Medical Education Promoting Activities

Twitter in Medical Education Sharing Employment Opportunities

Additional Reading:
Pharma Twitterama: Exploring the Use of Twitter in Pharma and Healthcare – Shwen Gwee
140 Health Care Uses for Twitter – Phil Baumann

Twitter in the Classroom
Ways in which Twitter can be used in the classroom
Direct Tweets between Faculty/Students
Connect with Fellow Students
Collaborate on Project
Make Announcements
Take a Poll (Twitpol.com)
Share Resources
Follow Mentors
Promote an Event
Sharing Pictures (Twitpic.com)
Brainstorming
Virtual Attendee at Events
Source: 50 Ways to Use Twitter in the College Classroom

Twitter Tools Tools to Make it Easier!

Twitter Tools TweetDeck Tool that allows you to sort your followers into groups. Application can be synched to iPhone

Twitter Tools Seesmic Desktop Tool that allows you to sort your followers into groups & to monitor multiple accounts at the same time.

Twitter Tools

Twitter – Final Thoughts
Why Should I Care?
Your students are tweeting
Your institution is tweeting
Your colleagues are tweeting
What are they saying? What are they sharing?

Is Twitter a waste of time?
It depends on how you use it and who you follow !

Think about how you want to use Twitter before you begin to follow people
Tweet with value
Use tools such as Tweetdeck or Seesmic to make it easier
Use #Hashtags when appropriate
Ask questions / solicit feedback
Don’t feel obligated to follow back

@iamse @jkhewett Contact: [email_address]

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Twitter In Medical Education

by Julie Hewett on Sep 03, 2009

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