Author: Editor

“Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape it.”  — Bertolt Brecht

In two prior posts, I have discussed the issue of professionalism and social media.  These two posts can be found here (professionalism) and here (physician online behavior).  I have also taken issue with medical organizations’ extant social media guidelines.  In some of these posts’ comments, it has been noted that there is no corresponding guideline or document that expressly discusses appropriate, positive use of social media in health care communications.

As a result, I am taking the liberty of making some suggestions as to what I think are important guiding principles for effective physician use of social media.  This will include some cautions that I feel are especially useful, but I would also like to explain how and why I think physicians can use social media in…

Today’s post is from Michelle Lin (@M_Lin), who is the editor-in-chief for Academic Life in Emergency Medicine (ALiEM).  AliEM has > 2M unique visits each year, an indirect marker of the influence of this site.  Michelle has received an endowed chair in emergency medicine education at the University of California, San Francisco, in part, for her work in social media.

ALiEM is not an isolated phenomenon in emergency medicine. Life in the Fast Lane is an Australian-based site founded by Mike Cadogan (@sandnsurf) and Chris Nickson (precordialthump) that is equally influential within emergency medicine.  (Bias alert… I’m an emergency physician…) So, why is the clinical specialty of emergency medicine at the forefront of social media and education? 33 Charts asked the question last month and suggested an answer. Today, Michelle gives her take.

–   Jonathan