Evaluation of Social Media Use by Emergency Medicine Residents and Faculty

Abstract

IntroductionClinicians and residency programs are increasing their use of social media (SM) websites for educational and promotional uses, yet little is known about the use of these sites by residents and faculty. The objective of the study is to assess patterns of SM use for personal and professional purposes among emergency medicine (EM) residents and faculty.MethodsIn this multi-site study, an 18-question survey was sent by e-mail to the residents and faculty in 14 EM programs and to the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors (CORD) listserv via the online tool SurveyMonkey™. We compiled descriptive statistics, including assessment with the chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test. StatsDirect software (v 2.8.0, StatsDirect, Cheshire, UK) was used for all analyses.ResultsWe received 1,314 responses: 63% of respondents were male, 40% were <30 years of age, 39% were between the ages 31 and 40, and 21% were older than 40. The study group consisted of 772 residents and 542 faculty members (15% were program directors, 21% were assistant or associate PDs, 45% were core faculty, and 19% held other faculty positions. Forty-four percent of respondents completed residency more than 10 years ago. Residents used SM markedly more than faculty for social interactions with family and friends (83% vs 65% [p<0.0001]), entertainment (61% vs 47% [p<0.0001]), and videos (42% vs 23% [p=0.0006]). Residents used Facebook™ and YouTube™ more often than faculty (86% vs 67% [p<0.001]; 53% vs 46% [p=0.01]), whereas residents used Twitter™ (19% vs 26% [p=0.005]) and LinkedIn™ (15% vs 32% [p<0.0001]) less than faculty. Overall, residents used SM sites more than faculty, notably in daily use (30% vs 24% [p<0.001]). For professional use, residents were most interested in its use for open positions/hiring (30% vs 18% [p<0.0001]) and videos (33% vs 26% [p=0.005]) and less interested than faculty with award postings (22% vs 33% [p<0.0001]) or publications (30% vs 38% [p=0.0007]).ConclusionEM residents and faculty have different patterns and interests in the personal and professional uses of social media. Awareness of these utilization patterns could benefit future educational endeavors.

Emergency medicine educational resource use in Cape Town: modern or traditional?

“…This concurs with data from the USA, which indicated that emergency medicine trainees regularly use these resources and that they use it in a different way than their trainers 11 19. However, the biggest criticism against these resources and their use have been the lack of standardised quality assessment tools 18 20. Peer review has long been seen as the gold standard in assessing quality in science, and despite the defects of peer review (eg, slow, inconsistent, biased), most readers would argue that any knowledge source is more reliable after being subjected to a peer review process than without 21.…”

“…18 Journals are forums where the latest research findings are disseminated. Healthcare professionals use them to augment their baseline knowledge and to stay up to date with the knowledge explosion.…”

Occupational therapy students’ use of social media for professional practice

“…Given the millennium students' familiarity with social media and technology, there is concern that some of the threats mentioned (breach of professionalism, confidentiality) may be more evident. In contrast, some of the benefits of social media use included more effective communication and interaction among peers, [8] which could have potential positive implications for teaching and student support. Many universities, including the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Durban, SA, are moving toward blended learning, which implies the need to explore how students use social media for educational purposes.…”

“…Snyman and Visser, [7] in a South African (SA) study comprising 344 dentists, established that social media are being used as a marketing tool. Pearson et al [8] used an online survey to explore the use of social media among emergency medicine residents and faculty members at various sites. [8] Potential threats cited included 'breaches of professionalism' , which included online disclosure of private information.…”

“…Pearson et al [8] used an online survey to explore the use of social media among emergency medicine residents and faculty members at various sites. [8] Potential threats cited included 'breaches of professionalism' , which included online disclosure of private information. [7] Variability in the usage trends of social media and concerns about students maintaining clients' privacy were also cited.…”