To Tweet or Not to Tweet, That Is the Question

Abstract

In the past 20 years, a variety of social media platforms have significantly changed how we interact, communicate, learn, and engage. Social media use by physicians and physicians in training has expanded dramatically and evolved in recent years. Here, we focus on the use of Twitter by medical professionals (#medtwitter) and analyze Twitter's role as a new tool for learning, teaching, networking, professional development, mentorship/sponsorship, and advocacy within medicine. We discuss principles of adult learning theory to support the effectiveness of the use of Twitter as an educational tool, and share best practice pearls as well.

Keywords: #hcsm; #medtwitter; Twitter; advocacy; health care social media; medical education; social media.