One of the top reasons doctors don't use social media: it takes too much time

A few thoughts from my Twitter account:

One of the top reasons (not the only reason) why doctors don't use social media is that it takes "too much time". For example, no practicing physician has the time to "argue for hours" over the content of single 140-character tweet.

To dispel a few misconceptions:

- Medical news tweets are not research articles - they are 140-character messages - therefore always go to the original source/links, etc.

- Tweets and links do not represent endorsement, approval or support. Tips for webmasters: when talking about endorsements, link to them. Please see top right sidebar of http://allergycases.org for an example.

- Medical blogs are not a source of "actionable" medical information. The same principle applies to Wikipedia. You must be treated by an expert - not a "crowd" - as in the "wisdom of crowds" concept used by Wikipedia.

Until recently, I did not think that anybody would need a course how to use Twitter but it looks like social media should probably be on medical school curricula. Looking at some recent social media "disasters", future doctors need to know how handle criticism in public on Twitter, blogs, etc. Social media is a different medium by definition and it may require different skills. Common sense and application of values of the profession are paramount but social media is a new area and many otherwise reasonable people mishandle it without even noticing - in "real time."

Educators should focus on several aspects of social media (SM), not just the receiving end - RSS, podcasts, etc. SM in its current form is very different from face to face communication, phone call or even email. SM education should cover both professionalism and information use.

Medical librarians are the ones that should take the lead and teach medical students about social media because they are best "equipped" to do it. The whole job description of a medical librarian has changed - it should be a "medical information specialist"...

Where to start?

For doctors: How to be a Twitter star in two easy steps

Related reading

The only way to preserve the wisdom of the crowd is to protect the independence of the individual. WSJ, 2011.

Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

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