Using Social Media to Heal, to Teach, and to Discover…and get promoted?

Purpose: The use of social media has become increasingly prevalent amongst radiologists. Therefore, identifying how social media may enrich professional development is crucial for directing its use. We aim to elucidate the various applications of social media within the field of radiology.

Methods/Materials: A literature search was conducted using the Pubmed search engine including the words “Radiology and Social media”. A plethora of articles populated, with nearly 826 published studies. We selectively reviewed twenty-one articles published from 2016 and onward, to reveal the diverse applications social media has to offer in the field of radiology.

Results: Patel et al. reported 85% of radiologists currently use social media. Furthermore, the RANSOM survey investigated how radiologists are using social media, reporting 63% of radiologists used social media to stay informed about the latest developments, while 66% used it to communicate with colleagues about radiology related topics. However, Hawkins et al, urges radiologists to increase their publicity through social media, to better educate patients on the role of the profession, as nearly 85% of patients were found unaware that radiologists are physicians. Hawkins et al. demonstrates that journals with X (formerly Twitter) profiles had higher Impact Factors than those without profiles (mean, 3.37 vs 2.14; P < .001). A larger number of followers was correlated with a higher Impact Factor (R2 . 0.581, P .029). Retrouvey et al. discusses the creation and use of dedicated hashtags to support female radiologists.

Conclusions: Social media has been harnessed by the medical community to increase professional camaraderie in numerous aspects. With most radiologists using social media as a professional outlet, it is important to recognize its varying benefits for students and patients. Social media can offer educational resources, mentorship opportunities, and a digital presence that can serve to build professional relationships. With these applications in mind, social media can be utilized in various career applications.