TY  - JOUR
AU  - Panda, Ananya
AU  - Sharma, Akash
AU  - Dundar, Ayca
AU  - Packard, Ann
AU  - Aase, Lee
AU  - Kotsenas, Amy
AU  - Kendi, Ayse Tuba
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/11/8
TI  - Twitter Use by Academic Nuclear Medicine Programs: Pilot Content Analysis Study
JO  - JMIR Form Res
SP  - e24448
VL  - 5
IS  - 11
KW  - social media
KW  - Twitter
KW  - radiology
KW  - nuclear medicine
KW  - nuclear radiology
KW  - social network
KW  - medical education
KW  - networking
AB  - Background: There is scant insight into the presence of nuclear medicine (NM) and nuclear radiology (NR) programs on social media. Objective: Our purpose was to assess Twitter engagement by academic NM/NR programs in the United States. Methods: We measured Twitter engagement by the academic NM/NR community, accounting for various NM/NR certification pathways. The Twitter presence of NM/NR programs at both the department and program director level was identified. Tweets by programs were cross-referenced against potential high-yield NM- or NR-related hashtags, and tabulated at a binary level. A brief survey was done to identify obstacles and benefits to Twitter use by academic NM/NR faculty. Results: For 2019-2020, 88 unique programs in the United States offered NM/NR certification pathways. Of these, 52% (46/88) had Twitter accounts and 24% (21/88) had at least one post related to NM/NR. Only three radiology departments had unique Twitter accounts for the NM/molecular imaging division. Of the other 103 diagnostic radiology residency programs, only 16% (16/103) had a presence on Twitter and 5% (5/103) had tweets about NM/NR. Only 9% (8/88) of NM/NR program directors were on Twitter, and three program directors tweeted about NM/NR. The survey revealed a lack of clarity and resources around using Twitter, although respondents acknowledged the perceived value of Twitter engagement for attracting younger trainees. Conclusions: Currently, there is minimal Twitter engagement by the academic NM/NR community. The perceived value of Twitter engagement is counterbalanced by identifiable obstacles. Given radiologists’ overall positive views of social media’s usefulness, scant social media engagement by the NM community may represent a missed opportunity. More Twitter engagement and further research by trainees and colleagues should be encouraged, as well as the streamlined use of unique hashtags. 
SN  - 2561-326X
UR  - https://formative.jmir.org/2021/11/e24448
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/24448
UR  - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34747708
DO  - 10.2196/24448
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/24448
ER  -