Ep 71: Trending on Twitter

Carina Clawson  00:16

O M G. Did you see what’s hahtag trending on Twitter? Fire Emoji Fire Emoji Dancing Girl Emoji  I’m Just kidding. Nobody talks like that. However, the influence of social media and the internet has become a growing part of our personal and professional lives.   When leveraged correctly, social media can be a powerful career tool. It can expand your professional networks, reveal job opportunities, help you stay up-to-date on industry trends, and let you share information with wide-reaching audiences.  Today, we complied insights from Her Story leaders about the role social media played in their careers. Well will hear from Vineet Arora, M.D., the Dean for Medical Education at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. Next, we will turn to Stacy Hurt, Patient Engagement Consultant and HIMSS Digital Influencer. To wrap up, we will hear from Kimberly Manning, M.D. Associate Vice Chair of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Department of Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine.  Let’s hear from Dr. Arora about her entry into twitter.

Vineet Arora, M.D.  01:23

I ended up just lurking for a while I looked and I looked, I learned. And I realized that there was a space, because I remember seeing people mixing up confusing what students and residents were like, they would be like, oh, they’d refer to an article. And they’d be like, Oh, this medical student, but you when you read it, like a resident physician, or at that time, people were even now but yeah, that time duty hours and resident fatigue and sleep was a big issue. And I had done a lot of research in the area. And people always had one viewer, the other like the public, but didn’t see both sides of the equation. And so I realized that there was a potential opportunity there to educate the public. So I actually, as a lot of people asked me Did I take to social media to educate my my students or my residents? And I was like, No, because they’re unfortunately with me in person in the room, and and, and I would never be like, Oh, go get on Twitter and follow me. You see what I said. But I realized there was this community of people who I would never have reached, who I can actually highlight some of the issues that we’re facing in medical education. I started tweeting about medical education under the handle future. Doc’s in 2009. I did not tell anybody in my organization, I was doing this, I did look at the policies, but like, I didn’t have it in my handle, if you found to be, because you were on Twitter. Okay, but you’re on Twitter, too. So that’s embarrassing for you as well. So that was my philosophy, which is that if you stumble upon me, and find me, and then try to catch for my organization, I’ll be like, what are you doing there? And so it’s interesting how my career has grown with Twitter, because it was not accepted at the time, and then I and then it grew to become accepted. And then it’s grown to be vital. I mean, it’s been vital on a pandemic

Vineet Arora, M.D.  01:49

Dr. Arora used twitter to correct misconceptions about medicine and discuss important issue in medical education.   Social media has become a valuable tool, even in traditional academic and health professional settings. More of the world is online due to COVID-19, making social media knowledge a competitive advantage. Nothing embarrassing about that!  Next, we will hear from Stacy Hurt, and how she expands her community with social media.

Stacy Hurt  03:48

What’s so important about Twitter and, pick your, LinkedIn, Facebook, et cetera, is that they build community and that they enable people who are challenged by disease or disability or caregiving for a family member that we can all still be part of a community that’s talking about those relevant issues that are shaping healthcare. And that something like Twitter really makes a level playing field that I can access prominent physicians like Andrew Watson, and Rasu Shreshtha, and John White to be, engaging with them person to person, like we’re talking in the same room that we can have these conversations on Twitter. And that’s what I love about it, the access, the accessibility and that previously, I would have only seen them at a conference that I can’t go to because I have nobody to care for my son, but that I can be with them virtually. And so I’ve made tons of relationships. I kid my friends, close friends that I have here at home, I say, I don’t really have a lot of real friends, but I have a ton of virtual friends that are super important to me. And caregiving is very isolating and very alienating. And so my virtual community is so important to me. It’s such an important part of my life. And to know that I can contribute my expertise and my experience and my knowledge, like I said, to shaping the future of healthcare technologies, it’s super important to me.

Carina Clawson  05:32

Stacy uses social media to discuss and amplify ideas. From her computer, she can reach peers across the country.  Additionally, Stacy uses social media groups to connect with and support fellow caregivers and patients. They can share information and tips, and turn to each other for emotional support. Social media can be a tool to directly impact health outcomes.  To wrap up, let’s hear from Dr. Manning and what drives her use of social media.

Kimberly Manning, M.D.  05:59

I’m a very big fan of Toni Morrison, particularly her writing but also as a human being. And she wrote her first book, The Bluest Eye when she was 39 years old. And when asked why she wrote it, she said so I could read it. It was the book I wanted to read. So I try to tell the stories that I would have hunger to hear as an intern or as a medical student. I try to write the stories that I’m not seeing anywhere. And I try to paint a picture of a safety net hospital like gravity or black people who come not from privilege or who who have low resources. You’re not trying to humanize those entities. vigils, because I get to see that every day, but the pictures that are painted of us, they don’t ever look like what I get to see. And so most people who see what I write on social media as it relates to a patient that I take care of a Grady Hospital, they are almost always from a positive slant. It is almost always countering the narrative that is painted about poor black people and descendants of slavery. I’m really, because there’s so much beauty involved, we are not all slow saying and flower bringing, there’s a lot of laughter, a lot of joy, and a lot of people who are delighted to be who they are, even with all the hardships. So I think I think I’m just always hungry. To tell the story that I that I don’t, that I don’t read. So the podcast that Dr. Ashley mcmullin. And I started together again, it was something that I hadn’t heard, I want to hear two black women physicians just talking to each other in a relaxed way. And being comfortable in their own skin. Ashley is junior to me, she’s identifies as a queer black woman. I’m a 50 year old married mom of two, married to a man and we have very different lived experiences. So also showing that black women are not a monolith, we can be very, very different from each other, even though we’re all in this space. So I’m always hungry to show the thing that people haven’t seen, but that I get to see, and then hoping to permit more people to bring their authentic selves into spaces, so that we all stop code-switching. Just stop it.

Carina Clawson  08:27

Dr. Manning’s blog highlights underrepresented stories of Black patients, reaching a vast audience of clinicians, patients, even celebrities like Oprah. And her podcast provides virtual mentorship to the next generation of health professionals.  Not every professional needs a twitter or blog, but for all three of these leaders, social media played an important role in their career journey.   If you are interested in joining a social media or having a larger presence online, make sure to check out the guidelines from your employer and remember to be respectful. When used right, social media platforms offer the potential the promote health, understanding, and professional development.