Next-Generation Scholarship: Rebranding Hematopathology Using Twitter: The MD Anderson Experience

Abstract

Hematopathologists are witnessing very exciting times, as a new era of unsurpassed technological advances is unfolding exponentially, enhancing our understanding of diseases at the genomic and molecular levels. In the evolving field of precision medicine, our contributions as hematopathologists to medical practice are of paramount importance. Social media platforms such as Twitter have helped facilitate and enrich our professional interactions and collaborations with others in our field and in other medical disciplines leading to a more holistic approach to patient care. These platforms also have created a novel means for instantaneous dissemination of new findings and recent publications, and are proving to be increasingly useful tools that can be harnessed to expand our knowledge and amplify our presence in the medical community. In this Editorial, we share our experience as hematopathologists with Twitter, and how we leveraged this platform to boost scholarly activities within and beyond our subspecialty, and as a powerful medium for worldwide dissemination of educational material and to promote our remote teaching activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent advances in technology have provided 21st century scholars with a plethora of tools to harness and remodel our skills and interests, and to optimize our career paths [1]. Social media have provided medical professionals with a novel platform for real-time interaction, education, patient engagement, collaborations, and networking [2]. Such applications, spanning the healthcare continuum, are further

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