Chretien Katherine C, Tuck Matthew G, Simon Michael, Singh Lisa O, Kind Terry
Washington DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 50 Irving Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20422, USA.
School of Medicine and Health Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
J Gen Intern Med. 2015 Nov;30(11):1673-80. doi: 10.1007/s11606-015-3345-z.
While researchers have studied negative professional consequences of medical trainee social media use, little is known about how medical students informally use social media for education and career development. This knowledge may help future and current physicians succeed in the digital age.
We aimed to explore how and why medical students use Twitter for professional development.
This was a digital ethnography.
Medical student "superusers" of Twitter participated in the study
The postings ("tweets") of 31 medical student superusers were observed for 8 months (May-December 2013), and structured field notes recorded. Through purposive sampling, individual key informant interviews were conducted to explore Twitter use and values until thematic saturation was reached (ten students). Three faculty key informant interviews were also conducted. Ego network and subnetwork analysis of student key informants was performed. Qualitative analysis included inductive coding of field notes and interviews, triangulation of data, and analytic memos in an iterative process.
Twitter served as a professional tool that supplemented the traditional medical school experience. Superusers approached their use of Twitter with purpose and were mindful of online professionalism as well as of being good Twitter citizens. Their tweets reflected a mix of personal and professional content. Student key informants had a high number of followers. The subnetwork of key informants was well-connected, showing evidence of a social network versus information network. Twitter provided value in two major domains: access and voice. Students gained access to information, to experts, to a variety of perspectives including patient and public perspectives, and to communities of support. They also gained a platform for advocacy, control of their digital footprint, and a sense of equalization within the medical hierarchy.
Twitter can serve as a professional tool that supplements traditional education. Students' practices and guiding principles can serve as best practices for other students as well as faculty.
虽然研究人员已经探讨了医学实习生使用社交媒体带来的负面职业影响，但对于医学生如何非正式地利用社交媒体促进教育和职业发展却知之甚少。了解这些情况可能有助于未来和在职医生在数字时代取得成功。
我们旨在探究医学生如何以及为何使用推特促进职业发展。
这是一项数字人种志研究。
推特的医学生“超级用户”参与了本研究。
观察了31名医学生超级用户在8个月（2013年5月至12月）内发布的推文，并记录了结构化的实地笔记。通过目的抽样法，进行了个体关键信息访谈，以探究推特的使用情况和价值，直至达到主题饱和（10名学生）。还进行了3次教师关键信息访谈。对学生关键信息提供者进行了自我网络和子网分析。定性分析包括对实地笔记和访谈进行归纳编码、数据三角测量以及在迭代过程中撰写分析备忘录。
推特是一种补充传统医学院经历的专业工具。超级用户有目的地使用推特，并注重网络专业性以及成为优秀的推特用户。他们的推文反映了个人和专业内容的混合。学生关键信息提供者有大量粉丝。关键信息提供者的子网联系紧密，显示出社交网络而非信息网络的迹象。推特在两个主要领域提供了价值：获取信息和发出声音。学生能够获取信息、接触专家、了解包括患者和公众视角在内的各种观点以及获得支持群体。他们还获得了一个用于发声、控制其数字足迹以及在医学等级制度中实现平等感的平台。
推特可以作为一种补充传统教育的专业工具。学生的做法和指导原则可以为其他学生以及教师提供最佳实践参考。
