Twitter Use Among Departments of Surgery with General Surgery Residency Programs
Fiona J. Dore, Susanna S. Hill, Steven T. Em, Robert J. McLoughlin, Allison S. Crawford, Paul R. Sturrock, Justin A. Maykel, Karim Alavi, Jennifer S. Davids Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery, UMass Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
Background:
Use of social media by surgeons is increasing, but the driving motivations are uncharacterized. We sought to determine the prevalence of Twitter accounts among Departments of Surgery and identify use patterns.
Methods:
All U.S. ACGME-General Surgery residencies with Department of Surgery Twitter Accounts were identified and surveyed anonymously. Twitter altmetrics were quantified by account age, follower statistics, and recent tweet activity. Descriptive statistics were performed on prevalence of accounts and use characteristics.
Results:
Department of Surgery Twitter accounts were identified for 79/319 (25%) departments with general surgery residency programs. Two-thirds of the accounts were created in the last 5 years, with widely varying total tweets (median 314, range 3-21,893) and followers (median 454, range 18-22,353). There was a 41% survey response rate (n=32). Daily Twitter logins (78%), daily tweets (53%), and formal content guidelines (59%) were reported. Account administrators were 66% marketing/administration and 34% physicians; job description and personal interest were cited as top reasons for account administration. Key benefits were perceived as "promoting new research" (97%) and "academic visibility" (91%), but concerns were expressed over privacy (63%) and professionalism (72%).
Conclusion:
Most Twitter Department of Surgery account administrators login daily and feel that Twitter increases academic visibility and promotes new research. As only 25% of departments have Twitter accounts, expansion of social media use represents opportunities for surgical community engagement.
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