The rise of #SocialMedia in the Nephrology world

Nefrologia (Engl Ed). 2020 Nov-Dec;40(6):597-607. doi: 10.1016/j.nefro.2020.02.003. Epub 2020 May 6.
[Article in English, Spanish]

Abstract

Social media (SoMe) use has increased exponentially in the last decade and is having a profound impact on the Nephrology world. The use of these platforms is contributing to continuous educational and professional development by exposing nephrologists to new research, allowing them to connect with experts, to exchange experiences, or to engage in scientific debates. Here, we introduce the basics of SoMe, focusing on Twitter because it is the most popular SoMe platform used by the medical community for professional purposes. We will review the main education platforms and tools available, such as visual abstracts, blogs, tweetorials, videos, and podcasts. We will also focus on their different applications for educational purposes such as online journal clubs, webinars, or online games. The role of SoMe in academic promotion, dissemination of research, expansion of nephrology societies and coverage of scientific events will also be discussed. In the end, we will reflect on SoMe risks and limitations, much-needed developments in SoMe platforms and the challenges ahead of us.

Keywords: Educación; Education; Investigación; Nefrología; Nephrology; Redes sociales; Research; Scientific societies; Social media; Sociedades científicas.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Abstracting and Indexing
  • Blogging
  • Forecasting
  • Humans
  • Information Dissemination / methods*
  • Nephrology / education*
  • Research
  • Risk
  • Social Media / trends*
  • Societies, Scientific
  • Video Games
  • Webcasts as Topic