1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,880 [MUSIC] 2 00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:10,640 This is EM Pulse with your hosts, Sarah Medeiros and 3 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:14,560 Julia Magaña, social media, wonderful and terrifying. 4 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:20,080 [MUSIC] 5 00:00:20,080 --> 00:00:21,960 >> Welcome back to EM Pulse. 6 00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:25,960 >> We're gonna talk about social media's role in medicine. 7 00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:29,160 >> Right, and we've been wanting to talk about this for a while. 8 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:32,000 The last time was with Dr. Megan Ranney, 9 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:33,320 and that was in our episode, 10 00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:35,760 "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility" 11 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:37,700 in April of 2019. 12 00:00:37,700 --> 00:00:39,680 But this is such an evolving topic, 13 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:41,220 and so much has changed. 14 00:00:41,220 --> 00:00:42,960 - I totally agree, 15 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:45,920 and I would argue things continue to evolve. 16 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:47,960 So, okay, we are recording this, 17 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:50,660 what, today is September 8th, 2023. 18 00:00:50,660 --> 00:00:53,400 So this is our best take on social media 19 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:54,500 at this moment in time, 20 00:00:54,500 --> 00:00:57,060 but hey guys, it may change by the time 21 00:00:57,060 --> 00:00:58,840 this is even published. 22 00:00:58,840 --> 00:01:02,360 Yeah, and so to get into this, we've invited Lauren Suedkamp. 23 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:05,360 Now, I know Lauren back from when she was the social media 24 00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:09,260 director at UC Davis Health, but she is now the vice president 25 00:01:09,260 --> 00:01:12,120 at a digital health public affairs agency. 26 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:13,480 Welcome, Lauren. 27 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:14,160 Thanks, guys. 28 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:15,240 Happy to be here. 29 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:17,240 Yeah, this is exciting because Lauren 30 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:20,000 was here at the inception of EM Pulse. 31 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:23,200 And now here she is as our expert on this podcast. 32 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:24,040 So it's pretty cool. 33 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:24,560 Absolutely. 34 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:26,040 She helped us so much along the way, too. 35 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:27,600 So thank you for all of that, Lauren. 36 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:30,740 I know what a full circle moment, so exciting. 37 00:01:30,740 --> 00:01:32,180 - Okay, Lauren, we need to start off 38 00:01:32,180 --> 00:01:35,020 by defining social media for this conversation. 39 00:01:35,020 --> 00:01:36,440 I know there's lots of definitions, 40 00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:40,140 but what are we talking about when we say social media today? 41 00:01:40,140 --> 00:01:42,380 - So I think when we talk about social media today, 42 00:01:42,380 --> 00:01:45,220 we're really talking about platforms 43 00:01:45,220 --> 00:01:49,720 that allow you to be interactive with other people. 44 00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:51,220 And so it's kind of where you see 45 00:01:51,220 --> 00:01:53,420 those two-way conversations happening. 46 00:01:53,420 --> 00:01:55,740 You think about your traditional, like Facebook, 47 00:01:55,740 --> 00:01:59,500 Instagram, Twitter, X, whatever it's called today. 48 00:01:59,500 --> 00:02:00,540 (laughing) 49 00:02:00,540 --> 00:02:03,260 On September 8th, it's called X, formerly known as Twitter. 50 00:02:03,260 --> 00:02:05,440 It could be something completely different tomorrow, 51 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:08,140 but today you'll hear me probably go back and forth 52 00:02:08,140 --> 00:02:11,240 between calling it X and Twitter, old habits die hard. 53 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:14,860 We also think about it in terms of TikTok. 54 00:02:14,860 --> 00:02:16,620 Can't have a conversation about social media 55 00:02:16,620 --> 00:02:17,880 without TikTok. 56 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:20,340 And I'd also say that there's some others 57 00:02:20,340 --> 00:02:23,620 that have really emerged as kind of contenders, 58 00:02:23,620 --> 00:02:25,380 quote unquote, that we may not have traditionally 59 00:02:25,380 --> 00:02:30,540 a lot of us contenders. So YouTube is one, especially with the release of YouTube Shorts. 60 00:02:30,540 --> 00:02:34,940 And then the other place that you're kind of seeing this like intersection of is it 61 00:02:34,940 --> 00:02:41,340 social media or is it the internet is Reddit. Okay, so let's talk about some of those platforms. 62 00:02:41,340 --> 00:02:46,140 What are the top platforms that healthcare providers use? Yeah, so I think there's kind 63 00:02:46,140 --> 00:02:50,260 of two categories that that would fall in. I think one is the category of a healthcare 64 00:02:50,260 --> 00:02:56,260 provider who's looking to maybe build their business quote unquote. And if they're doing 65 00:02:56,260 --> 00:03:00,900 that, they're probably looking more on a platform like Facebook, where you can create like a page 66 00:03:00,900 --> 00:03:08,020 about their organization or, you know, even which might be like taboo, but their own profile of like 67 00:03:08,020 --> 00:03:13,380 where they work and to get reviews and all that jazz. I think the other bucket here is the physician 68 00:03:13,380 --> 00:03:20,480 who wants to promote themselves, either as like a thought leader or an educator or someone 69 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:25,200 with something to say on a topic, on multiple topics. 70 00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:29,620 And so when we look at that second category, I think the big places that you see people 71 00:03:29,620 --> 00:03:34,700 at least today are on Instagram and on TikTok. 72 00:03:34,700 --> 00:03:40,200 Now you might see them other places, but if they're showing up other places, I think about 73 00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:44,520 like Reddit doing an AMA, they're likely either promoted by the institution that they're working 74 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:50,280 for, or they're tied to some organization that's part of like a bigger push for a topic. 75 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:53,560 But in terms of them being an individual, I'd say it's really Instagram and TikTok, 76 00:03:53,560 --> 00:04:01,240 which is a huge change from even like a year ago when it would have been X slash Twitter. 77 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:06,480 Why do you think those particular platforms are so popular? 78 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:09,860 I think they're so popular because they're so engaging. 79 00:04:09,860 --> 00:04:11,900 And I think for a lot of people, 80 00:04:11,900 --> 00:04:14,520 and at least the physicians that I know, 81 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:17,920 I have a really good friend who is a physician 82 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:21,280 in Wisconsin, watched her go through residency 83 00:04:21,280 --> 00:04:23,320 and was along for the whole journey. 84 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:24,880 And knowing you two as well, 85 00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:27,800 I think a lot of physicians go into medicine 86 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:29,920 and they go through such strict schooling 87 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:33,000 and their life is about becoming a doctor 88 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:35,640 and whatever that looks like for them. 89 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:38,500 And along the way, a lot of them might lose 90 00:04:38,500 --> 00:04:41,480 that kind of creative outlet because they don't have time. 91 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:43,120 Your life is about saving people 92 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:44,760 and that's like the most important. 93 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:46,840 And then when you get on the other end of that, 94 00:04:46,840 --> 00:04:47,680 they're suddenly like, 95 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:49,520 oh, I'm really passionate about this thing. 96 00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:53,000 Or I really want to show people how to do this. 97 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:54,960 Or I have something to say about this topic. 98 00:04:54,960 --> 00:04:57,400 We saw a lot of that with COVID and vaccines. 99 00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:00,400 And so I think that people like Instagram and TikTok 100 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:03,000 because they're quick, they're easy, 101 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:05,740 especially I'm gonna be really like general here, 102 00:05:05,740 --> 00:05:09,040 but if you're like under 30, it's really easy to go on 103 00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:13,360 and like edit videos, you've grown up doing it. 104 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:16,120 And so those platforms are just so accessible 105 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:19,560 to be what I like to call quick and dirty and get out there. 106 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:23,240 And so you can get on, it takes nothing more than a phone 107 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:26,680 and a point of view and boom, you're out there. 108 00:05:26,680 --> 00:05:28,280 And I think that it's a really great way 109 00:05:28,280 --> 00:05:29,880 that people have seen to kind of A, 110 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:31,640 release some of that creative energy 111 00:05:31,640 --> 00:05:35,800 And B, be able to talk about something they're passionate about without feelings, 112 00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:39,160 maybe some of the constraints that they've felt throughout their schooling. 113 00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:41,200 >> That's a really great summary. 114 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:48,000 Can I ask you to summarize that dumpster fire of Elon Musk and 115 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:50,520 Twitter and evolution into X? 116 00:05:50,520 --> 00:05:53,240 For those that may not have followed it in the news, 117 00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:55,600 can you just summarize what happened? 118 00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:59,720 >> Basically, what he did is he just dropped a bomb and destroyed a great platform. 119 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:07,160 That would be my general summary. But I would say in general what happened is when he bought Twitter, 120 00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:12,360 so he basically took over the majority ownership, he kind of started to make sweeping changes. 121 00:06:12,360 --> 00:06:17,160 A lot of people talk about it in terms of he was trying to create it into a profitable business, 122 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:21,800 because I don't think a lot of people knew that up to that point, like Twitter 123 00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:28,360 wasn't as profitable as some of the other places. That's not to say it was posting, you know, 124 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:34,680 gigantic losses and was always on the brink of collapse, but it also wasn't the big places where 125 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:40,680 you saw a lot of ad spends like on meta or even on TikTok. And so when he bought it, I think he 126 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:45,000 came in and I'm giving him way too much credit, but he came in with the idea of turning it more 127 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:51,720 into a business. But along the way, he destroyed everything that made it what it was. In terms of 128 00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:57,320 the verification processes, having to buy your blue checks, what is that? That means that like 129 00:06:57,320 --> 00:07:01,960 person off the street could do it versus a big corporation. The fact that you could impersonate 130 00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:09,080 other accounts, the whole Eli Lilly Insolins issue, popped up. And in those moments, it destroyed any 131 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:15,160 of the brand and kind of personal safety that had existed on Twitter before that really allowed it 132 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:21,240 to still be a free speech kind of platform. But you were limited in terms of some of the hate speech 133 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:25,640 that was out there. And when he came in, it blew the whole thing up and it left people really 134 00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:29,880 vulnerable to things that they weren't vulnerable to before. 135 00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:34,600 Tell us about the Eli Lilly insulin incident. 136 00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:39,120 So what happened with Eli Lilly, which was really terrifying, not necessarily for physicians, 137 00:07:39,120 --> 00:07:45,440 but I think it's an example of the dangers that could exist on Twitter, is that when 138 00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:49,840 some of the verification processes were removed and some of the checks that were in place 139 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:55,360 to ensure that, you know, accounts and people were who they said they were to the best of 140 00:07:55,360 --> 00:08:00,280 the ability obviously. Someone created a fake Eli Lilly account and if you don't 141 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:05,220 know Eli Lilly is one of the biggest producers of insulin and they posted 142 00:08:05,220 --> 00:08:11,800 that insulin was now free for everybody and it was horrific is the best way to 143 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:19,240 put it. Like it's played with Eli Lilly's stock immediately it was a very like 144 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:23,800 major like crisis there but what I think is the most important thing at least 145 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:29,720 from the work that I do is it pulled back the curtain that you were like no longer safe on Twitter. 146 00:08:29,720 --> 00:08:35,800 That there was always kind of this feeling, especially if you were verified, that it meant 147 00:08:35,800 --> 00:08:41,640 something to be verified. And it meant that it was really clear who was who, especially if you were 148 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:50,120 such a public person, persona, company, whatever. And when that happened, it, I like shattered it. 149 00:08:50,680 --> 00:08:56,360 And it made it so like what is real because a bunch of news outlets picked it up because it looked 150 00:08:56,360 --> 00:09:04,040 real. And that I think just underscores kind of how if you're looking to be on social media and if 151 00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:09,240 you're looking to kind of start to try to be what we can call like a public persona, always 152 00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:14,040 understanding the risks that you're taking along the lines and knowing like what you're getting 153 00:09:14,040 --> 00:09:20,120 into. So if you're getting into a platform like Twitter that it's kind of the wild, wild west still 154 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:22,200 And it wasn't for a long time. 155 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:24,920 And then these things happened and Elan's take over. 156 00:09:24,920 --> 00:09:27,280 And again, it inherently changed the platform 157 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:29,440 from what it was where I think it was originally 158 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:32,960 one of the most heavily like HCP platform out there. 159 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:35,160 And now it still is still being used 160 00:09:35,160 --> 00:09:38,440 by like medical conferences and a lot of kind of that 161 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:41,440 in the moment conversation is happening. 162 00:09:41,440 --> 00:09:44,480 But even then it's not happening as much as it was. 163 00:09:44,480 --> 00:09:45,600 - Yeah, and that's one of the things 164 00:09:45,600 --> 00:09:47,440 that I really loved about Twitter 165 00:09:47,440 --> 00:09:49,760 was that conversation with other physicians 166 00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:51,940 and especially the emergency medicine community 167 00:09:51,940 --> 00:09:53,820 was huge on Twitter. 168 00:09:53,820 --> 00:09:56,800 So it feels to me like a lot of the physician community 169 00:09:56,800 --> 00:09:58,440 has left Twitter. 170 00:09:58,440 --> 00:09:59,880 Is that true by the numbers? 171 00:09:59,880 --> 00:10:02,060 Do we have data that says that? 172 00:10:02,060 --> 00:10:05,620 - I haven't seen really clear numbers of data around that 173 00:10:05,620 --> 00:10:08,720 just because sometimes people don't identify 174 00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:11,120 as who they are when they jump to other platforms. 175 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:14,300 But what I can say is that especially when it has come 176 00:10:14,300 --> 00:10:16,640 to doing things like ad targeting 177 00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:19,160 and putting content out there for people to see, 178 00:10:19,160 --> 00:10:21,840 especially around conferences where HCPs will be attending, 179 00:10:21,840 --> 00:10:24,720 there's been a major shift to LinkedIn. 180 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:25,940 And the reason that is, 181 00:10:25,940 --> 00:10:28,760 is because while there are physician-specific platforms 182 00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:31,120 out there, like Doximity and Sermo, 183 00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:32,640 those are closed platforms 184 00:10:32,640 --> 00:10:34,840 that only physicians have access to, 185 00:10:34,840 --> 00:10:38,400 like outside people and companies can place advertisements, 186 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:41,360 but only physicians are part of those. 187 00:10:41,360 --> 00:10:43,460 LinkedIn has now become the natural place 188 00:10:43,460 --> 00:10:46,320 for kind of that professional, quote unquote, 189 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:53,760 interactions that you saw a lot on Twitter. And so you saw a lot more kind of physicians putting 190 00:10:53,760 --> 00:10:58,160 themselves out there writing thought leadership. So of course, it had to now be longer than 280 191 00:10:58,160 --> 00:11:02,080 characters. But from what I know, a lot of physicians have something to say about things 192 00:11:02,080 --> 00:11:07,600 and need more than 280 characters to really make a strong point. And I say that in like the nicest 193 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:12,720 way possible because you have research and data and like all this backup. And I think LinkedIn has 194 00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:15,560 really become that place where physicians are engaging more. 195 00:11:15,560 --> 00:11:17,880 And it's less in the traditional sense that we think about 196 00:11:17,880 --> 00:11:20,580 LinkedIn for the lay person. They're not necessarily on 197 00:11:20,580 --> 00:11:24,220 there looking for jobs. They're on there to kind of have those 198 00:11:24,220 --> 00:11:29,160 professional connections with each other with organizations 199 00:11:29,160 --> 00:11:31,760 and with others that leaders in the spaces that they care about. 200 00:11:31,760 --> 00:11:36,520 Interesting. Are there any other platforms that have shown 201 00:11:36,520 --> 00:11:41,360 themselves to be a meaningful competitor to x like threads or 202 00:11:41,360 --> 00:11:45,680 you know, you mentioned Doximetry and Sermo. Is there anything else that has kind of 203 00:11:45,680 --> 00:11:50,320 filled that space about micro blogging and sharing and having that conversation? 204 00:11:50,320 --> 00:11:57,440 Well, that's a great question. So I think that Doximetry and Sermo to the outside person are 205 00:11:57,440 --> 00:12:03,120 always going to be a mystery, just because unless you can talk to directly physicians who use it, 206 00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:07,120 it's hard to know from an outside perspective, like what's going on there, what kind of 207 00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:14,080 conversations are happening as it is such a closed platform. Now, when you use the word meaningful, 208 00:12:14,080 --> 00:12:19,280 that's not necessarily how I would describe threads at this exact moment. I think it's 209 00:12:19,280 --> 00:12:27,680 an attempt at a competitor, but I think it's hard when it's tied to Instagram and it's like 210 00:12:27,680 --> 00:12:34,560 cross promoting. And there just isn't from what I've seen like the same level of buy-in. There was 211 00:12:34,560 --> 00:12:36,100 There was a ton of buy-in when it launched. 212 00:12:36,100 --> 00:12:37,500 When it launched, everybody was like, 213 00:12:37,500 --> 00:12:39,500 "Look at threads, I'm gonna join." 214 00:12:39,500 --> 00:12:42,380 And then you saw within the first two weeks 215 00:12:42,380 --> 00:12:46,060 a massive drop-off of engaged users. 216 00:12:46,060 --> 00:12:47,740 And so what that means is that a bunch of people 217 00:12:47,740 --> 00:12:50,380 went in, activated their profiles, 218 00:12:50,380 --> 00:12:52,340 and maybe did that first, like, 219 00:12:52,340 --> 00:12:53,940 "Hey, I'm here," kind of post, 220 00:12:53,940 --> 00:12:55,800 and then never did anything else. 221 00:12:55,800 --> 00:12:57,300 And there's limitations there. 222 00:12:57,300 --> 00:12:59,380 The big difference, at least from the last time 223 00:12:59,380 --> 00:13:01,800 I looked at threads, is that it was really hard 224 00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:03,460 to be searchable by topic. 225 00:13:03,460 --> 00:13:05,500 So you could use a hashtag, but like, 226 00:13:05,500 --> 00:13:09,500 didn't take you anywhere, nor could you click on it. 227 00:13:09,500 --> 00:13:12,980 And so that's, I think the biggest downside to threads 228 00:13:12,980 --> 00:13:14,820 could change again in a month 229 00:13:14,820 --> 00:13:16,700 that that functionality is there. 230 00:13:16,700 --> 00:13:18,860 And the other one that you have heard people talk about 231 00:13:18,860 --> 00:13:21,460 a little bit is a platform called Mastodon. 232 00:13:21,460 --> 00:13:25,740 Funny name, of course, but Mastodon is kind of, 233 00:13:25,740 --> 00:13:30,740 I like to describe it as like the IT solution to Twitter. 234 00:13:30,740 --> 00:13:33,100 And the reason I say that is because 235 00:13:33,100 --> 00:13:36,340 it's an open source social media platform, 236 00:13:36,340 --> 00:13:40,540 which means that people can kind of create their own areas 237 00:13:40,540 --> 00:13:43,000 and groups within the source code. 238 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:47,640 And there are layers to accessibility to the platform. 239 00:13:47,640 --> 00:13:50,140 So you have to apply to kind of the branch 240 00:13:50,140 --> 00:13:52,020 that you want to join. 241 00:13:52,020 --> 00:13:54,880 And like once you're in, you're in, 242 00:13:54,880 --> 00:13:56,980 but then you still have to like apply 243 00:13:56,980 --> 00:13:59,620 to be part of other Mastodon communities. 244 00:13:59,620 --> 00:14:02,940 So I don't think it's been adopted as much. 245 00:14:02,940 --> 00:14:04,660 I also don't think a lot of people know about it. 246 00:14:04,660 --> 00:14:07,900 And if you do know about it, you've known about it for kind of specific reasons, 247 00:14:07,900 --> 00:14:11,060 not necessarily because Twitter disappeared or changed. 248 00:14:11,060 --> 00:14:13,060 And like you were looking for something else. 249 00:14:13,060 --> 00:14:17,020 Tell me a little bit more about how people are using Reddit. 250 00:14:17,020 --> 00:14:18,780 Oh, great question. 251 00:14:18,780 --> 00:14:20,860 So Reddit has been around for a long time. 252 00:14:20,860 --> 00:14:24,820 It's the quintessential front page of the Internet, as they like to call themselves. 253 00:14:24,820 --> 00:14:27,940 But people are using Reddit to have. 254 00:14:27,940 --> 00:14:31,260 I think a lot of these micro conversations. 255 00:14:31,500 --> 00:14:33,940 And so they're having them in subreddits, 256 00:14:33,940 --> 00:14:37,060 and subreddits exist amongst bigger Reddit channels. 257 00:14:37,060 --> 00:14:38,860 And so if you don't know how Reddit works, 258 00:14:38,860 --> 00:14:40,780 Reddit has pages. 259 00:14:40,780 --> 00:14:43,220 And in those pages, they can be broken down 260 00:14:43,220 --> 00:14:44,460 into smaller subreddits. 261 00:14:44,460 --> 00:14:47,100 So you can think about it as emergency medicine 262 00:14:47,100 --> 00:14:49,460 is a Reddit page. 263 00:14:49,460 --> 00:14:51,660 And on emergency medicine, you could then 264 00:14:51,660 --> 00:14:56,940 create subreddits to be like pediatrics, or ultrasound, 265 00:14:56,940 --> 00:15:01,940 or radiology or even like critical care. 266 00:15:01,940 --> 00:15:04,700 So like first response, that kind of thing. 267 00:15:04,700 --> 00:15:06,580 And so all of these kinds of conversations 268 00:15:06,580 --> 00:15:09,060 can happen on these pages. 269 00:15:09,060 --> 00:15:12,780 And I think people are really using them to ask questions, 270 00:15:12,780 --> 00:15:15,780 to talk through situations. 271 00:15:15,780 --> 00:15:17,820 I've seen a lot of people good on there and be like, 272 00:15:17,820 --> 00:15:20,020 I had this thing happen, like this is what I did, 273 00:15:20,020 --> 00:15:22,020 what would you have done? 274 00:15:22,020 --> 00:15:23,860 And you see people having those conversations 275 00:15:23,860 --> 00:15:26,620 or you see the general person asking, 276 00:15:26,620 --> 00:15:29,220 my kid has been spiking a fever of 104 277 00:15:29,220 --> 00:15:32,540 for the last three days, do I go to the doctor? 278 00:15:32,540 --> 00:15:34,320 And it's interesting in the responses 279 00:15:34,320 --> 00:15:37,380 because you might see a fellow parent who's just like, 280 00:15:37,380 --> 00:15:40,200 no, I gave my kid Tylenol and they were great. 281 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:42,380 And then you see an NP pop on there who's like, 282 00:15:42,380 --> 00:15:44,620 you should probably call the nurse advice line. 283 00:15:44,620 --> 00:15:46,780 Or you see those people pop up, 284 00:15:46,780 --> 00:15:48,640 but they're self-identifying. 285 00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:50,740 And I think that's the difference with Reddit 286 00:15:50,740 --> 00:15:55,220 is you're about as anonymous as you can get on Reddit 287 00:15:55,220 --> 00:15:56,780 in terms of like your username 288 00:15:56,780 --> 00:15:58,120 can be whatever you want it to be. 289 00:15:58,120 --> 00:16:00,420 It has nothing to do with you. 290 00:16:00,420 --> 00:16:02,660 And even when you sign up for an account, 291 00:16:02,660 --> 00:16:04,260 it's not like on the other platforms 292 00:16:04,260 --> 00:16:06,380 where you choose like your job or things like that. 293 00:16:06,380 --> 00:16:07,300 You don't have to have any of that. 294 00:16:07,300 --> 00:16:08,780 I think the basics that you have to have 295 00:16:08,780 --> 00:16:10,860 is a username and your location. 296 00:16:10,860 --> 00:16:12,740 So people are self identifying 297 00:16:12,740 --> 00:16:14,860 and I think that's the interesting part. 298 00:16:14,860 --> 00:16:16,660 - I think that's the scary part to me, 299 00:16:16,660 --> 00:16:19,500 even more so like we talked about with the verification 300 00:16:19,500 --> 00:16:28,240 on Twitter that feels like even more so licensed to post false information and not sure who 301 00:16:28,240 --> 00:16:30,460 to actually rely upon there. 302 00:16:30,460 --> 00:16:34,860 I'd say just to that point, though, real fast, that one of the things with Reddit that I 303 00:16:34,860 --> 00:16:41,120 think is really interesting is that there is an inherent level of trust. 304 00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:46,420 So when people put things out there and they ask a question, I think from what I've seen 305 00:16:46,420 --> 00:16:51,860 as a user and then also from doing some research on there into certain type topics. 306 00:16:51,860 --> 00:16:56,240 I think there's this inherent level of like when you ask a question or bring up a topic, 307 00:16:56,240 --> 00:17:02,200 you know that you're going to get the spectrum of things, but you also believe that by someone 308 00:17:02,200 --> 00:17:07,660 taking the time to get in there and write a real comment, that they're who they say 309 00:17:07,660 --> 00:17:08,800 they're going to be. 310 00:17:08,800 --> 00:17:11,720 I like to think about engagements in tiers. 311 00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:17,840 And so like a tier one engagement, in my opinion, is a like or a click to like open up the rest 312 00:17:17,840 --> 00:17:21,680 of something that's written that's maybe not above the like read more. 313 00:17:21,680 --> 00:17:26,320 A tier two is when you kind of get into the I'm going to share this with someone. 314 00:17:26,320 --> 00:17:29,740 It might be a comment of like, this is great, like a small comment. 315 00:17:29,740 --> 00:17:34,660 But a tier three, to me, is when someone leaves a real comment, when they actually go in there 316 00:17:34,660 --> 00:17:37,360 and they say something more than a few words. 317 00:17:37,360 --> 00:17:41,360 That's, I think, the tier that you see a lot more on Reddit, 318 00:17:41,360 --> 00:17:42,360 and that's where I think people 319 00:17:42,360 --> 00:17:43,960 kind of believe in the credibility. 320 00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:45,560 So while it still is anonymous, 321 00:17:45,560 --> 00:17:47,780 it's really the fact that someone's taking the time 322 00:17:47,780 --> 00:17:51,120 to take more than two seconds to do an action 323 00:17:51,120 --> 00:17:54,200 that underscores some credibility. 324 00:17:54,200 --> 00:17:55,360 I mean, that's my opinion, 325 00:17:55,360 --> 00:17:57,040 but I think that that's, 326 00:17:57,040 --> 00:17:59,440 from what I've seen, held pretty true. 327 00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:01,640 - Hmm, interesting way to think about it. 328 00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:03,600 What about some of the visual platforms? 329 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:06,480 You mentioned Instagram and TikTok. 330 00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:11,160 What are some successful ways that healthcare workers leverage these visual platforms? 331 00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:13,920 So I think there's a few ways. 332 00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:19,040 I think one is having a point of view and your point of view can be as simple as I'm a 333 00:18:19,040 --> 00:18:21,320 pediatric physician here. 334 00:18:21,320 --> 00:18:25,440 Or I'm an emergency medicine doctor here. 335 00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:28,680 And I think the here part is really important. 336 00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:33,760 And I bring that up because with the recent hurricane that happened in Florida, there is 337 00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:42,080 a physician whose name is escaping me. But she has been on there on Instagram and I think she's on 338 00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:45,280 TikTok too. A lot of people are now doing this thing where they're like on both platforms and 339 00:18:45,280 --> 00:18:50,320 reposting both content just without like the little TikTok logo. So but anyway she's on there, 340 00:18:50,320 --> 00:18:55,040 she lives in Florida, she's right on the path of the hurricane and she's already established herself 341 00:18:55,040 --> 00:19:01,600 as a pediatric physician and oftentimes she comes on there and does kind of like myths and facts. 342 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:05,680 so she'll do the splicing where like she's talking in front of a video of someone else sharing 343 00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:10,880 something and saying whether it's true or not. She does a lot of general kind of pediatric things, 344 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:15,120 but when the hurricane was coming she started showing glimpses inside her hospital. 345 00:19:15,120 --> 00:19:19,680 So it was, "This is how we're prepping for the hurricane. This is where I'm staying. 346 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:25,200 This is what my family's doing since I'm here." But I thought that was really interesting because 347 00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:31,040 I was like, "Oh, so they have this place for their their doctors and this is how they're prepping 348 00:19:31,040 --> 00:19:34,280 and it really just underscored her 349 00:19:34,280 --> 00:19:37,820 as a continuing authority of care. 350 00:19:37,820 --> 00:19:41,220 'Cause she's giving you that behind the scenes. 351 00:19:41,220 --> 00:19:43,260 She's showing you that like, 352 00:19:43,260 --> 00:19:45,100 her family's being taken care of, 353 00:19:45,100 --> 00:19:47,500 but she's here to take care of people 354 00:19:47,500 --> 00:19:48,780 and like this is her commitment 355 00:19:48,780 --> 00:19:49,980 and she knew as part of her commitment 356 00:19:49,980 --> 00:19:51,300 like this is what she's doing. 357 00:19:51,300 --> 00:19:52,700 And I thought that was really interesting 358 00:19:52,700 --> 00:19:53,900 because I thought that was a little different 359 00:19:53,900 --> 00:19:56,420 than what some of her other content had been. 360 00:19:56,420 --> 00:19:57,420 So I share that example 361 00:19:57,420 --> 00:20:00,060 because I do think that's where the there is important. 362 00:20:00,060 --> 00:20:02,600 And I think it's especially important to show 363 00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:06,060 if you feel comfortable enough to share 364 00:20:06,060 --> 00:20:08,620 not necessarily the hospital that you work at 365 00:20:08,620 --> 00:20:09,980 or the clinic that you work at, 366 00:20:09,980 --> 00:20:11,900 but at least the state that you're in 367 00:20:11,900 --> 00:20:14,260 because that might help give people some context 368 00:20:14,260 --> 00:20:15,780 to what you're talking about, 369 00:20:15,780 --> 00:20:17,540 especially in a day and age when healthcare 370 00:20:17,540 --> 00:20:21,620 is being decided a lot of times in politics 371 00:20:21,620 --> 00:20:23,620 and not in one-on-one conversations 372 00:20:23,620 --> 00:20:25,260 between a patient and their doctor. 373 00:20:25,260 --> 00:20:29,240 - So we've talked about a lot of these sort of success stories 374 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:31,920 of how we can successfully use social media. 375 00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:34,860 But what are some of the concerns or pitfalls 376 00:20:34,860 --> 00:20:37,280 that emergency physicians should be aware of 377 00:20:37,280 --> 00:20:40,040 when they're utilizing these platforms professionally? 378 00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:42,620 - So the first and biggest one 379 00:20:42,620 --> 00:20:47,560 that I feel like is common sense, but is also not, is HIPAA. 380 00:20:47,560 --> 00:20:51,860 And HIPAA consists not only of patient and patient details 381 00:20:51,860 --> 00:20:54,000 and anything that's identifying factors 382 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:57,440 when you're speaking, but it's also what's behind you. 383 00:20:57,440 --> 00:20:59,720 what's on your table, what's something 384 00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:01,600 that someone can zoom in. 385 00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:05,060 And I think that that was always the number one thing. 386 00:21:05,060 --> 00:21:07,240 Whenever I talk to anybody in the medical field 387 00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:08,720 about wanting to be on social media, 388 00:21:08,720 --> 00:21:13,540 it's to be very, very aware and up to date on HIPAA. 389 00:21:13,540 --> 00:21:17,040 And to always think before you click publish. 390 00:21:17,040 --> 00:21:20,520 So you might think that the story that you have told 391 00:21:20,520 --> 00:21:23,840 about this case that you had was really interesting 392 00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:26,320 and such a great learnable experience. 393 00:21:26,320 --> 00:21:28,240 And oh my gosh, I can't wait to share it. 394 00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:32,120 But you accidentally mentioned that the patient had red hair 395 00:21:32,120 --> 00:21:36,000 and therefore they needed a higher dose of pain medicine. 396 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:37,720 I know that's like a may or may not be a myth, 397 00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:38,960 but I'm just going with it. 398 00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:40,680 (laughing) 399 00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:43,600 You had to give them a higher dose of pain medicine 400 00:21:43,600 --> 00:21:45,920 in order to treat, I don't know, 401 00:21:45,920 --> 00:21:47,840 the dislocated shoulder that they had. 402 00:21:47,840 --> 00:21:49,160 Again, I'm not a medical professional, 403 00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:51,160 this is just where I'm going. 404 00:21:51,160 --> 00:21:53,880 And you're like, what was really cool about this is XYZ. 405 00:21:53,880 --> 00:21:55,160 And you're like, I'm gonna click publish 406 00:21:55,160 --> 00:21:58,400 because I think other people might need to learn about this. 407 00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:01,520 Well, you just identified that this person had red hair, 408 00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:04,120 that this was the condition that they came in on. 409 00:22:04,120 --> 00:22:06,560 And are you publishing it the same day 410 00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:07,800 that you did this treatment 411 00:22:07,800 --> 00:22:10,420 or are you publishing it like three months after? 412 00:22:10,420 --> 00:22:12,560 Now, they're still gray there. 413 00:22:12,560 --> 00:22:13,880 I'm not saying to do that, 414 00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:16,200 but it's like those small things, 415 00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:17,880 I think are what people sometimes forget 416 00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:18,800 when they're in the moment 417 00:22:18,800 --> 00:22:19,920 and they're wanting to just get out 418 00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:22,160 what this really cool thing was. 419 00:22:22,160 --> 00:22:26,240 I think that that's always a big pitfall for people 420 00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:29,980 because I would hate to have had something happen to me 421 00:22:29,980 --> 00:22:32,980 and the doctor who treated me without my permission, 422 00:22:32,980 --> 00:22:36,620 I found on social media, like I have found other doctors 423 00:22:36,620 --> 00:22:38,380 and suddenly I'm hearing them tell my story 424 00:22:38,380 --> 00:22:40,320 and they never like talk to me about it. 425 00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:42,500 And I knew it was me. 426 00:22:42,500 --> 00:22:44,860 And if I know it's me, someone else might know it's me 427 00:22:44,860 --> 00:22:46,820 if they're close to me. 428 00:22:46,820 --> 00:22:48,580 - Yeah, that's a good principle, 429 00:22:48,580 --> 00:22:50,100 like making sure that the patient 430 00:22:50,100 --> 00:22:55,500 couldn't even identify themselves with inside of the information that you're sharing would 431 00:22:55,500 --> 00:23:02,300 be a good general rule. But HIPAA definitely scares me. Also, you know, misinformation 432 00:23:02,300 --> 00:23:08,620 on social media scares me and I want to be as precise as I can. That's really important 433 00:23:08,620 --> 00:23:16,340 to me. How can I ensure that I'm not inadvertently spreading false or misleading content on social 434 00:23:16,340 --> 00:23:17,340 media? 435 00:23:17,340 --> 00:23:20,380 This feels like a conversation back in late 2020 436 00:23:20,380 --> 00:23:22,820 and 2021 related to COVID, 437 00:23:22,820 --> 00:23:25,220 which was just such a fascinating case study 438 00:23:25,220 --> 00:23:27,700 and misinformation for the general public, 439 00:23:27,700 --> 00:23:29,520 but also in terms of medicine. 440 00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:32,420 I think what happens with misinformation 441 00:23:32,420 --> 00:23:37,420 is always knowing what you're talking about 442 00:23:37,420 --> 00:23:39,500 in terms of where it's coming from. 443 00:23:39,500 --> 00:23:41,340 So identifying off the bat, 444 00:23:41,340 --> 00:23:43,020 is this your personal opinion 445 00:23:43,020 --> 00:23:45,420 or is this your educated opinion? 446 00:23:45,420 --> 00:23:47,260 Now the lines could be gray there, 447 00:23:47,260 --> 00:23:50,060 but that's where it comes up with data and facts 448 00:23:50,060 --> 00:23:54,760 and being able to speak to things that are reputable. 449 00:23:54,760 --> 00:23:56,800 And it's okay to not always have that backup 450 00:23:56,800 --> 00:23:58,720 if you have an opinion on something. 451 00:23:58,720 --> 00:24:00,860 But if you have that opinion, you also have to know 452 00:24:00,860 --> 00:24:04,820 that if you're sharing something that is misinformation 453 00:24:04,820 --> 00:24:09,820 or is your own personal opinion not based 454 00:24:09,820 --> 00:24:14,500 in facts and studies, that you'll lead with that. 455 00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:18,840 I think what happened a lot is a lot of doctors 456 00:24:18,840 --> 00:24:21,560 were either quoting things, and again, 457 00:24:21,560 --> 00:24:23,980 I'm talking about around COVID and vaccines, 458 00:24:23,980 --> 00:24:26,440 but they were quoting things that were coming out 459 00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:29,560 as it was happening, not necessarily after 460 00:24:29,560 --> 00:24:31,560 the long-term studies that are really effective. 461 00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:33,540 And I know that during that time period, 462 00:24:33,540 --> 00:24:35,540 we didn't have the luxury of time, 463 00:24:35,540 --> 00:24:39,580 and a lot of it then came down to physicians 464 00:24:39,580 --> 00:24:42,920 putting their own personal stance on what was happening 465 00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:45,800 and not realizing, to your point at the beginning, 466 00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:48,040 Sarah, you have power. 467 00:24:48,040 --> 00:24:51,360 People are looking to you as an expert. 468 00:24:51,360 --> 00:24:53,640 They come to you for care. 469 00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:56,660 And so regardless of whether they're your patient or not, 470 00:24:56,660 --> 00:24:58,980 your words hold weight. 471 00:24:58,980 --> 00:25:02,500 And so there is this responsibility, 472 00:25:02,500 --> 00:25:04,280 whether you like it or not, 473 00:25:04,280 --> 00:25:06,160 that people are gonna take what you say 474 00:25:06,160 --> 00:25:09,160 and really consider it more highly 475 00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:11,340 or better than their friend, 476 00:25:11,340 --> 00:25:14,120 or maybe even a family member or someone they trust 477 00:25:14,120 --> 00:25:15,680 because they trust you. 478 00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:17,080 and they trust that you're supposed to have 479 00:25:17,080 --> 00:25:19,820 their best interest at hand. 480 00:25:19,820 --> 00:25:23,960 And so misinformation is like a poison, 481 00:25:23,960 --> 00:25:26,680 but what's challenging with it 482 00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:29,940 is so much of it is rooted in the personal. 483 00:25:29,940 --> 00:25:32,760 And so that's where I think it really behooves people 484 00:25:32,760 --> 00:25:35,760 to identify like, this is my personal opinion, 485 00:25:35,760 --> 00:25:38,520 based on what I've read, this is what I think, 486 00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:41,080 and not doing a lot of generalizations, 487 00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:42,640 which is a lot of, I think, what we saw 488 00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:44,000 in that heavy time period. 489 00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:50,700 I think another thing that really scares me on social media or maybe not scares me but 490 00:25:50,700 --> 00:25:54,800 like stresses me out is the concept of trolls. 491 00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:58,920 Somebody coming on and trolling what I'm saying. 492 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:02,760 What is your best tip for dealing with trolls? 493 00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:04,220 Blocking and reporting. 494 00:26:04,220 --> 00:26:09,340 So I'm a firm believer that social media can be both the best and the worst thing for mental 495 00:26:09,340 --> 00:26:10,340 health. 496 00:26:10,340 --> 00:26:14,400 It can be the best thing because it ties you to this wealth of information that we never 497 00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:21,640 had before in such a beautiful community of people across the world with diverse perspectives 498 00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:27,120 and thoughts and ways of life that you may never be exposed to, regardless of where you 499 00:26:27,120 --> 00:26:33,200 live. And that knowledge sharing and exposure is, I think, one of the most powerful things 500 00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:37,140 to really underscore the fact that, like, we're all in this together and we're all one 501 00:26:37,140 --> 00:26:42,940 big giant community. On the flip side of that, I think social media can also bring out the 502 00:26:42,940 --> 00:26:45,860 the worst of what we like to call keyboard warriors. 503 00:26:45,860 --> 00:26:47,880 So people who sit behind their keyboard 504 00:26:47,880 --> 00:26:50,900 and, you know, tear people down 505 00:26:50,900 --> 00:26:55,460 and say things that you would literally never say 506 00:26:55,460 --> 00:26:58,220 to someone's face, sitting across from them. 507 00:26:58,220 --> 00:27:01,160 And if you were, chances are that person would want nothing 508 00:27:01,160 --> 00:27:02,580 to do with you in the future. 509 00:27:02,580 --> 00:27:07,420 So I always just remind people that protecting your space 510 00:27:07,420 --> 00:27:10,820 and protecting your energy is the best thing you can do 511 00:27:10,820 --> 00:27:13,220 in those types of situations. 512 00:27:13,220 --> 00:27:17,000 It's the block button, it's reporting, 513 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:18,300 it's limiting your comments. 514 00:27:18,300 --> 00:27:19,900 I've seen people do that on Instagram 515 00:27:19,900 --> 00:27:21,380 when they're talking about certain things 516 00:27:21,380 --> 00:27:24,100 because they just don't wanna deal with people 517 00:27:24,100 --> 00:27:25,980 who are searching hashtags 518 00:27:25,980 --> 00:27:29,300 just to leave negativity all over the place. 519 00:27:29,300 --> 00:27:33,300 And so I think while that is a huge concern, 520 00:27:33,300 --> 00:27:35,860 there are now things in place to one, 521 00:27:35,860 --> 00:27:38,620 help you physically protect your energy and your space. 522 00:27:38,620 --> 00:27:41,500 And to just have a good reminder to yourself 523 00:27:41,500 --> 00:27:43,280 that you're choosing to do this. 524 00:27:43,280 --> 00:27:46,620 And if this choice is no longer serving you 525 00:27:46,620 --> 00:27:47,460 to be out there, 526 00:27:47,460 --> 00:27:50,860 if you feel like all you're getting is not what you want back, 527 00:27:50,860 --> 00:27:53,100 take a break, take a moment, 528 00:27:53,100 --> 00:27:54,680 maybe rethink what you're saying. 529 00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:55,940 And that's not to say what you're doing 530 00:27:55,940 --> 00:27:58,540 isn't valuable or important, 531 00:27:58,540 --> 00:28:00,060 but maybe that's your moment to step back 532 00:28:00,060 --> 00:28:03,260 and think about, is this really how I wanna do this? 533 00:28:03,260 --> 00:28:04,940 Is there other avenues that I could take 534 00:28:04,940 --> 00:28:07,100 or going to a trusted colleague or friend 535 00:28:07,100 --> 00:28:11,580 being like, "Okay, this is all that I'm getting. It seems to be these people coming at me saying 536 00:28:11,580 --> 00:28:17,500 this rhetoric over and over again. I think they're crazy. What do you think?" Because sometimes we 537 00:28:17,500 --> 00:28:24,140 get in our own mind too that what we have to say and what we have to share is 100% correct, 538 00:28:24,140 --> 00:28:27,340 and all the right things and the way that we're delivering it is so great. 539 00:28:27,340 --> 00:28:31,740 Sometimes it could just be in the delivery that people are missing the point. 540 00:28:33,340 --> 00:28:34,700 So let's shift a little bit. 541 00:28:34,700 --> 00:28:39,700 Let's say that I want to establish myself on social media 542 00:28:39,700 --> 00:28:41,300 and I haven't done that much 543 00:28:41,300 --> 00:28:43,060 or maybe I've pulled back for a while. 544 00:28:43,060 --> 00:28:47,020 What advice do you have for somebody to kind of get started 545 00:28:47,020 --> 00:28:48,340 and get themselves out there 546 00:28:48,340 --> 00:28:50,580 with a professional presence on social media? 547 00:28:50,580 --> 00:28:53,100 - Yeah, I love this question 548 00:28:53,100 --> 00:28:56,060 because I'm all about empowering people to like take the leap 549 00:28:56,060 --> 00:28:58,220 and you know, be themselves. 550 00:28:58,220 --> 00:29:00,420 And that would be my number one piece of advice. 551 00:29:00,420 --> 00:29:02,380 Be yourself. 552 00:29:02,380 --> 00:29:04,900 People want to see people. 553 00:29:04,900 --> 00:29:09,900 They want to see you after a shift, before a shift. 554 00:29:09,900 --> 00:29:13,340 I would say in the middle of your shift, 555 00:29:13,340 --> 00:29:15,980 but you know, caveats with that, 556 00:29:15,980 --> 00:29:17,900 as we all probably know if we're listening to this, 557 00:29:17,900 --> 00:29:19,340 if you're in the medical field, 558 00:29:19,340 --> 00:29:21,020 and have a point of view. 559 00:29:21,020 --> 00:29:23,700 And like I kind of mentioned or alluded to earlier, 560 00:29:23,700 --> 00:29:25,860 your point of view can be as simple as, 561 00:29:25,860 --> 00:29:30,020 I'm a pediatric emergency medicine physician. 562 00:29:30,020 --> 00:29:31,780 And what you're doing is you're setting yourself up 563 00:29:31,780 --> 00:29:33,620 for people to come find you and be like, okay, cool. 564 00:29:33,620 --> 00:29:35,320 So if I come to this person's page, 565 00:29:35,320 --> 00:29:37,060 I'm probably gonna see them talking about 566 00:29:37,060 --> 00:29:39,300 caring for children, caring for children 567 00:29:39,300 --> 00:29:42,780 in trauma situations, having advice on things 568 00:29:42,780 --> 00:29:45,540 that they might be seeing coming up in the emergency room. 569 00:29:45,540 --> 00:29:49,500 So like, do I go to the emergency room for a fever or not? 570 00:29:49,500 --> 00:29:53,580 Or when's the best time to call 911 for your kid 571 00:29:53,580 --> 00:29:55,060 versus like showing up and waiting? 572 00:29:55,060 --> 00:29:57,300 You know, they might look for topics like that. 573 00:29:57,300 --> 00:29:59,440 And if you're not wanting to delve into some of those 574 00:29:59,440 --> 00:30:01,380 types of things, they might also then be looking for you 575 00:30:01,380 --> 00:30:04,860 like, how do you take care of yourself outside of your shifts? 576 00:30:04,860 --> 00:30:08,860 What self-care and showing like, get ready with me routines 577 00:30:08,860 --> 00:30:11,700 is like the trend right now. 578 00:30:11,700 --> 00:30:13,900 And so I'm not saying that's necessarily 579 00:30:13,900 --> 00:30:16,540 what I think is the best use of someone's time 580 00:30:16,540 --> 00:30:18,900 to do all the time, but they might see that from you 581 00:30:18,900 --> 00:30:20,420 if you're just identifying yourself as that. 582 00:30:20,420 --> 00:30:22,980 Like, what do you do to get ready for a 12-hour shift? 583 00:30:22,980 --> 00:30:25,780 What do you look like after a 12-hour shift? 584 00:30:25,780 --> 00:30:30,300 Because to me, from the doctors that I've interacted with, 585 00:30:30,300 --> 00:30:32,680 that is the moment that I'd rather see 586 00:30:32,680 --> 00:30:34,000 than they get ready with me. 587 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:36,200 'Cause that's like the real, 588 00:30:36,200 --> 00:30:40,000 that's like you've just been face to face with humanity 589 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:42,040 for 12 hours. 590 00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:46,080 And I think that that human aspect 591 00:30:46,080 --> 00:30:49,040 from my own personal opinion is something that 592 00:30:49,040 --> 00:30:51,120 I think is still an untapped field. 593 00:30:51,120 --> 00:30:54,160 And that's not to say it's all doom and gloom 594 00:30:54,160 --> 00:30:54,980 'cause it's not. 595 00:30:54,980 --> 00:30:57,440 There's some beautiful, wonderful, miraculous things 596 00:30:57,440 --> 00:30:58,520 that happen. 597 00:30:58,520 --> 00:31:00,360 but I think that a lot of people just view it 598 00:31:00,360 --> 00:31:04,140 as like advice giving and not what it actually looks like 599 00:31:04,140 --> 00:31:05,360 to do the job. 600 00:31:05,360 --> 00:31:07,200 So that all circles back to my second thing 601 00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:08,460 about like have a point of view. 602 00:31:08,460 --> 00:31:10,560 So establish who you are and do your best 603 00:31:10,560 --> 00:31:12,680 to stay true to that as specific or as broad 604 00:31:12,680 --> 00:31:13,520 as you wanna be. 605 00:31:13,520 --> 00:31:15,560 - And you've talked about this a little bit 606 00:31:15,560 --> 00:31:18,760 but what would be your key platforms to start with? 607 00:31:18,760 --> 00:31:21,920 - What you're comfortable with is the first. 608 00:31:21,920 --> 00:31:26,000 So if you are like, I take photos and I'm great at photos 609 00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:27,560 and like that's my jam 610 00:31:27,560 --> 00:31:28,920 and I write these beautiful captions, 611 00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:31,200 Instagram is your best friend. 612 00:31:31,200 --> 00:31:33,360 If you wanna dabble in video, 613 00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:35,320 I'd say TikTok or Instagram. 614 00:31:35,320 --> 00:31:38,480 Now, both take a little bit of a learning curve 615 00:31:38,480 --> 00:31:40,960 and that shouldn't be a reason not to do it. 616 00:31:40,960 --> 00:31:42,640 There's so many people now who have like 617 00:31:42,640 --> 00:31:45,200 thousands of followers who if you scroll back 618 00:31:45,200 --> 00:31:47,240 through their page, their first videos 619 00:31:47,240 --> 00:31:50,160 are literally like terrible transitions 620 00:31:50,160 --> 00:31:54,160 and weird looking text on screen, 621 00:31:54,160 --> 00:31:56,260 you know, all that jazz. 622 00:31:56,260 --> 00:31:58,900 You can sometimes not hear them or the music's weird. 623 00:31:58,900 --> 00:32:01,380 And that's the thing, like it's meant to be fun. 624 00:32:01,380 --> 00:32:03,560 It's meant to be something that you try. 625 00:32:03,560 --> 00:32:05,740 And so that's where I think you kind of choose 626 00:32:05,740 --> 00:32:09,020 what medium speaks to you and know that you can evolve 627 00:32:09,020 --> 00:32:10,860 just like social media has evolved. 628 00:32:10,860 --> 00:32:13,940 - And I think that takes us to the next question 629 00:32:13,940 --> 00:32:16,220 is for those who are already established 630 00:32:16,220 --> 00:32:21,020 on one or two platforms, what is your advice to them 631 00:32:21,020 --> 00:32:23,900 for expanding their online presence? 632 00:32:25,060 --> 00:32:27,540 Research, do your research. 633 00:32:27,540 --> 00:32:28,860 What are you hashtagging? 634 00:32:28,860 --> 00:32:30,420 How are people finding you? 635 00:32:30,420 --> 00:32:32,200 Where are they finding you? 636 00:32:32,200 --> 00:32:35,520 Depending on your level of engagement on these platforms. 637 00:32:35,520 --> 00:32:38,460 And by that, I mean like if you do any like paid promotions 638 00:32:38,460 --> 00:32:42,000 or I think TikTok might give a little bit better metrics 639 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:44,300 than Instagram might give in that aspect, 640 00:32:44,300 --> 00:32:45,940 but look at who's following you. 641 00:32:45,940 --> 00:32:47,020 Look at where they come from. 642 00:32:47,020 --> 00:32:49,200 Look at what they look like. 643 00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:53,000 And target that audience. 644 00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:56,440 It takes some time and care and cultivation. 645 00:32:56,440 --> 00:32:58,560 It's one thing when people always talk about like, 646 00:32:58,560 --> 00:33:01,680 "Oh, I went viral and that's how I got all these followers." 647 00:33:01,680 --> 00:33:03,180 Well, did you? 648 00:33:03,180 --> 00:33:05,280 Or did you go viral for like one post 649 00:33:05,280 --> 00:33:06,440 and when people went to your page, 650 00:33:06,440 --> 00:33:08,580 they saw that you had a point of view 651 00:33:08,580 --> 00:33:10,400 that they wanted to keep following. 652 00:33:10,400 --> 00:33:14,020 And that I think is huge. 653 00:33:14,020 --> 00:33:15,360 And that's not again to say like, 654 00:33:15,360 --> 00:33:17,520 I think back to the days when Instagram first launched 655 00:33:17,520 --> 00:33:18,760 and like you looked at people's pages 656 00:33:18,760 --> 00:33:22,540 that were perfectly curated and like aesthetically pleasing. 657 00:33:22,540 --> 00:33:25,060 Like I think that matters a little more now 658 00:33:25,060 --> 00:33:27,420 just in terms of like wanting people to know 659 00:33:27,420 --> 00:33:29,740 like what you're talking about to click on a video. 660 00:33:29,740 --> 00:33:31,780 But I think it's less about that and more about like 661 00:33:31,780 --> 00:33:33,580 if this is something that's popping up in there 662 00:33:33,580 --> 00:33:38,620 like for you page, what's gonna keep them on your page? 663 00:33:38,620 --> 00:33:41,480 And then what's gonna encourage them to click follow. 664 00:33:41,480 --> 00:33:44,780 And if you're not seeing those click throughs to follows, 665 00:33:44,780 --> 00:33:45,780 start to think about why, 666 00:33:45,780 --> 00:33:48,220 are there different hashtags you could be using? 667 00:33:48,220 --> 00:33:51,180 Are there promotions that you could do 668 00:33:51,180 --> 00:33:52,720 in terms of like what you talk about. 669 00:33:52,720 --> 00:33:55,000 I'm not saying giveaways, don't do giveaway loops, 670 00:33:55,000 --> 00:33:56,760 please, please, please. 671 00:33:56,760 --> 00:33:58,960 But are there things that you could promote 672 00:33:58,960 --> 00:34:00,680 that connect to someone else? 673 00:34:00,680 --> 00:34:02,600 Work with your organization. 674 00:34:02,600 --> 00:34:03,760 If you really have a point of view 675 00:34:03,760 --> 00:34:05,000 and you think you're great on camera, 676 00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:07,360 which you probably are if you have a following, 677 00:34:07,360 --> 00:34:10,120 how can you then tap into someone else 678 00:34:10,120 --> 00:34:11,880 who has a following as well 679 00:34:11,880 --> 00:34:15,400 that might be the type of people you want to follow you? 680 00:34:15,400 --> 00:34:17,040 - I like that tip. 681 00:34:17,040 --> 00:34:19,720 - So Lauren, what do you think the future holds 682 00:34:19,720 --> 00:34:22,280 in terms of social media in the healthcare space? 683 00:34:22,280 --> 00:34:25,760 - That is a big question. 684 00:34:25,760 --> 00:34:28,880 On the one hand, change. 685 00:34:28,880 --> 00:34:31,360 I think it's going to constantly be changing. 686 00:34:31,360 --> 00:34:36,360 I think with AI and I think with these things that are, 687 00:34:36,360 --> 00:34:39,880 I think I keep saying this, but like wonderful 688 00:34:39,880 --> 00:34:41,440 and terrifying all at the same time, 689 00:34:41,440 --> 00:34:43,200 that's how I think of AI right now, 690 00:34:43,200 --> 00:34:45,640 it's gonna constantly be changing. 691 00:34:45,640 --> 00:34:48,040 But I think the one thing in the future 692 00:34:48,040 --> 00:34:51,280 that holds true to today is no matter how much things change, 693 00:34:51,280 --> 00:34:52,880 people want to see people. 694 00:34:52,880 --> 00:34:57,160 And so I think the future still is building that connection. 695 00:34:57,160 --> 00:34:59,560 I think you're going to see some platforms come and go. 696 00:34:59,560 --> 00:35:01,480 I think you're going to see platforms change. 697 00:35:01,480 --> 00:35:06,920 Like I don't think meta will be what it is today, a year from now, 698 00:35:06,920 --> 00:35:08,720 five years from now. 699 00:35:08,720 --> 00:35:10,880 But I think that it's not going away. 700 00:35:10,880 --> 00:35:12,600 And so I think the other piece of that 701 00:35:12,600 --> 00:35:15,560 is that for physicians as they're 702 00:35:15,560 --> 00:35:19,120 moving through their career and thinking about social media and whether they want to use 703 00:35:19,120 --> 00:35:22,200 it or not, I think it's always going to be there. 704 00:35:22,200 --> 00:35:27,500 And I think that it's just going to be determining your level of comfort, your level of engagement, 705 00:35:27,500 --> 00:35:32,680 and your buy-in to participate and what that looks like. 706 00:35:32,680 --> 00:35:38,720 Because I think that there's levels of that, and I think that those are always something 707 00:35:38,720 --> 00:35:43,320 that's going to be there, and so you can't pretend that it doesn't exist. 708 00:35:43,320 --> 00:35:47,140 But the more that you can embrace it in the way that you feel the most empowered by it, 709 00:35:47,140 --> 00:35:49,080 the better you're going to be in the long run. 710 00:35:49,080 --> 00:35:50,080 All right. 711 00:35:50,080 --> 00:35:54,320 So if there was one takeaway, one key point that you would like everybody to know here 712 00:35:54,320 --> 00:35:56,920 about social media, what would that be? 713 00:35:56,920 --> 00:36:01,840 I'm going to throw it back to the original podcast that you did and reiterate the with 714 00:36:01,840 --> 00:36:04,860 a great power comes great responsibility. 715 00:36:04,860 --> 00:36:11,880 And I think that that is the perfect summation of this, because as we know, people are looking 716 00:36:11,880 --> 00:36:15,440 to social media platforms more than they're looking to Google now. 717 00:36:15,440 --> 00:36:20,900 People are looking to people as experts, whether they're supported as that or not, in other 718 00:36:20,900 --> 00:36:24,440 realms that we have traditionally thought news media, for example, like if someone's 719 00:36:24,440 --> 00:36:28,120 quoted in the newspaper, they've typically been viewed as an expert. 720 00:36:28,120 --> 00:36:30,040 I think that that has changed. 721 00:36:30,040 --> 00:36:35,920 And so I just think that you should know that as a physician, as that person, or as a medical 722 00:36:35,920 --> 00:36:40,400 professional with those extra letters at the end of your name, people look to you with 723 00:36:40,400 --> 00:36:47,280 certain authority. And that is so wonderful. And I think it's so well deserved and so well earned. 724 00:36:47,280 --> 00:36:53,920 But know that your words have power and your words carry weight. And so when you opt into a 725 00:36:53,920 --> 00:37:00,240 more public or putting yourself out there type of persona, know that you have the power to influence. 726 00:37:00,240 --> 00:37:07,840 And that's huge. Thank you, Lauren. This has been eye opening. And it's so nice to talk with you 727 00:37:07,840 --> 00:37:11,920 again because I miss our chats where I would learn things from you all the time. 728 00:37:11,920 --> 00:37:14,260 So I love doing this again. 729 00:37:14,260 --> 00:37:19,220 And I have now learned that I need to get on Reddit because I don't think I use that 730 00:37:19,220 --> 00:37:20,520 as much as I should. 731 00:37:20,520 --> 00:37:24,360 So I'm going to get on there and start looking for some emergency medicine threads. 732 00:37:24,360 --> 00:37:26,440 That's an interesting takeaway. 733 00:37:26,440 --> 00:37:31,240 I also can't wait to see what happens next or maybe I can. 734 00:37:31,240 --> 00:37:35,280 Whatever it is, it's going to be interesting. 735 00:37:35,280 --> 00:37:39,040 And so guys, this is it for social media and emergency medicine. Thanks, Lauren, for your 736 00:37:39,040 --> 00:37:40,040 time. 737 00:37:40,040 --> 00:37:42,320 Of course, thanks for having me. 738 00:37:42,320 --> 00:37:48,000 And speaking of social media, you can find us on social media @EMPulsePodcast. And it 739 00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:52,200 helps us so much if you subscribe and rate the podcast on Apple Podcasts. And if you 740 00:37:52,200 --> 00:37:55,520 have time, we would love it if you left us a review. 741 00:37:55,520 --> 00:38:00,700 And thanks to the UC Davis Emergency Department for using social media to educate. 742 00:38:00,700 --> 00:38:05,460 And thanks to OM Productions for helping us with our own social media accounts. 743 00:38:05,460 --> 00:38:06,260 See y'all next time. 744 00:38:06,260 --> 00:38:08,840 (upbeat music) 745 00:38:08,840 --> 00:38:11,420 (upbeat music) 746 00:38:11,420 --> 00:38:17,820 [Music]