Academic Medicine Open Forum

Hi, everyone! I'm Jamol and I manage the AAMC's social media strategy and presense. I get a lot of questions about how medical schools and teaching hospitals can develop social media policies, so hopefully this #Tip-Tuesday is useful to many of you!

These tips come from Nat Mulkey, a 4th-year med student who argues that social media can help marginalized groups in medicine find needed support and validation. Nat—who felt isolated until discovering a community on #GayMedTwitter—suggests that academic medicine should help trainees navigate these platforms rather than discourage their use. 

Academic medical institutions should facilitate and support—not discourage—the use of social media by medical professionals. Here are a few ways institutions can do this:

1. Medical institutions should not discourage social media use by trainees. Instead, they should start to consider how they can help trainees navigate a setting like “professional Twitter.” 
2. Medical institutions should listen to trainees who are underrepresented in medicine about what is and is not working when it comes to mentorship and community and remain flexible as this evolves past more conventional means.
3. Academic medical organizations that publish guidelines for physician social media use should take a more nuanced approach to their recommendations. They should be crafted with consideration for how important these spaces are for trainees who are underrepresented.
4. Much of the mentorship, advice, and work done by racial, ethnic, sexual, or gender minority physicians on social media goes unrecognized and uncompensated. In light of the phenomenon known as the minority tax (the extra burden minority individuals carry to represent diversity, mentor, and teach), academic medicine should find ways to validate this behind-the-scenes work as an academic accomplishment.

​If you have any additional tips or comments to share, please reply to this thread. I'd love to hear from you!

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Jamol West
Sr. Social Media Strategist
Association of American Medical Colleges
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Thank you Jamol for these important action steps!

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Lisa Howley, PhD
Sr. Director, Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships in Medical Education
Pronouns: She/Her
Association of American Medical Colleges
lhowley@aamc.org
@LisaDHowley
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Original Message:
Sent: 04-27-2021 10:15
From: Jamol West
Subject: Tip Tuesday: Develop a social media policy that encourages and supports marginalized groups

Hi, everyone! I'm Jamol and I manage the AAMC's social media strategy and presense. I get a lot of questions about how medical schools and teaching hospitals can develop social media policies, so hopefully this #Tip-Tuesday is useful to many of you!

These tips come from Nat Mulkey, a 4th-year med student who argues that social media can help marginalized groups in medicine find needed support and validation. Nat-who felt isolated until discovering a community on #GayMedTwitter-suggests that academic medicine should help trainees navigate these platforms rather than discourage their use. 

Academic medical institutions should facilitate and support-not discourage-the use of social media by medical professionals. Here are a few ways institutions can do this:

1. Medical institutions should not discourage social media use by trainees. Instead, they should start to consider how they can help trainees navigate a setting like "professional Twitter." 
2. Medical institutions should listen to trainees who are underrepresented in medicine about what is and is not working when it comes to mentorship and community and remain flexible as this evolves past more conventional means.
3. Academic medical organizations that publish guidelines for physician social media use should take a more nuanced approach to their recommendations. They should be crafted with consideration for how important these spaces are for trainees who are underrepresented.
4. Much of the mentorship, advice, and work done by racial, ethnic, sexual, or gender minority physicians on social media goes unrecognized and uncompensated. In light of the phenomenon known as the minority tax (the extra burden minority individuals carry to represent diversity, mentor, and teach), academic medicine should find ways to validate this behind-the-scenes work as an academic accomplishment.

​If you have any additional tips or comments to share, please reply to this thread. I'd love to hear from you!

------------------------------
Jamol West
Sr. Social Media Strategist
Association of American Medical Colleges
------------------------------