More and more healthcare professionals are using Twitter as a professional development tool. iForumRx now has a twitter feed … and you can follow iForumrx @iforumrx.

 

The BC Patient Safety and Quality Council published a nice guide to Twitter for Health Care Professionals.   Check it out –  click on this link.

 

[collapsed title =”Here’s What You Need to Know to Get Started with Twitter Today”]

What is Twitter?

  • An information network that uses 140-character messages called “Tweets.”

How is it useful?

  • Twitter can help you discover and keep up with the latest news you care most about.
  • Many professionals use Twitter to stay abreast of the latest developments in their respective field … and to communicate and share information with colleagues.

 How do I start tweeting?

  • You need to create an account.  Go to http://twitter.com and find the sign up box … or go directly to https://twitter.com/signup
  • Enter your full name, email address, and a password.
  • Click Sign up for Twitter
  • On the next page, you can select a username.  A username is unique to each person or entity that has a Twitter account.  Create your own username or choose the one suggested by Twitter.   Your user name should be something professional as this will be visible to everyone you interact with in the Twittershere.
  • Double-check your name, email address, password, and username.
  • Click Create my account.  You may be asked to complete one of those annoying Captcha to let Twitter know you’re a human (not an Internet robot).
  • Twitter will send you a confirmation email to the address you entered on sign up.  You’ll need to click on the link in the confirmation email in order to activate your account.

How do I follow people or sources on Twitter?

  • From the main Twitter page (or mobile device), you can search for specific accounts or select            “Discover” to locate accounts similar to your interests. 
  • TIP: Be selective about who or what you follow. If your goal is to use Twitter professionally, you might avoid following @KimKardashian (for example).

How do I build my own voice on Twitter?

  • Your timeline homepage will show messages from your followers. From here, you can…
    • Retweet messages you’d like to share with your followers
    • Reply to a tweet by selecting @reply and typing your message
    • Include your followers in your tweets by typing “@” followed by their username
    • You can also send a private message to a follower, similar to an email
    • Hashtag’s (#) mark keywords or topics in a Tweet and help categorize messages.
    • TIP:  Use the hastag, #Pharmacists, when sending pharmacy-relevant tweets. 
  • How do I save Tweets I like?
    • Click the star to Favorite a tweet. Favorites can be accessed from your personal page.​
[collapsed title =”A Few Recommended Twitter Feeds”]

Pharmacy Organizations

  • Many of our pharmacy organizations have a Twitter feed that provides updates on what is going on within each organization and the profession.
    • ACCP Am Care PRN        @accpambuprn
    • ACCP                              @ClinicalPharm
    • ASHP                              @ASHPOfficial
    • APhA                               @pharmacists
    • AACP                              @AACPharmacy

Medical News Organizations

  • Here are a few Twitter feeds that are a great way to keep up with the latest information from clinical trials and other medical news:
    • Medscape Pharmacists     @MedscapePharm
    • Heart Meds                        @heartmeds_org
    • Endocrine Today                @EndocrineToday
    • Cardiology Today               @CardiologyToday
    • theheart.org                       @theheartorg

And don’t forget to “follow” @iforumrx for information about new content on iForumRx and other interesting tidbits.

 

Retweeting our posts to your followers will increase exposure to iForumRx in the Twittershpere!  Happy tweeting.