Lecture: Social Media in MedEd: A Two-Edged Sword

This is a Thought Leader Session I gave at SCCM2023. (January 22, 2023)

A comparison of different modes of traditional and SoMe Enhanced MedED:

Moving from traditional to SoMe enhanced MedEd:

A framework for how we can inoculate & protect people from the harms of misinformation & disinformation spread on SoMe:

What actions can health care providers take on Social Media to combat misinformation? Whether it’s by passively amplifying the words of those offering education, contributing educational content yourself, or actively opposing & refuting misinformation, you can help others significantly. I view this as a pyramid:

Here are my seven key take aways:

1. SoMe enhanced MedED has the potential to reach a larger audience, with shorter information latency, greater interactivity, and at lower cost.

2. The media should match the message & the intended audience

3. SoMe allows us to role model how we engage with colleagues & adapt our practice to a changing medical literature

4. Social media greatly increases awareness of scholarly work

5. Understand the difference between misinformation & disinformation:

   Misinformation = the spread of false information

   Disinformation = the spread of knowingly false or deliberately misleading/biased information

6. The harms of misinformation & disinformation spread on SoMe are enormous. An estimated 200,000 unvaccinated Americans died due from COVID who would likely have survived if not for vaccine misinformation.

7. SoMe can be used to immunize against misinformation.

You can download the slides here.