JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Despite the increasing trend for social media use at large, particularly Twitter by radiologists in recent years, there is little insight into the presence of Nuclear Medicine (NM) and Nuclear Radiology (NR) programs on social media.

Objective:

There is scant insight into the presence of Nuclear Medicine (NM) and Nuclear Radiology (NR) programs on social media. 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 department and program director (PD) level was identified. Tweets by programs were cross-referenced against potential high-yield NM/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 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 remaining 103 radiology residency programs, only 16% (16/103) had presence on Twitter and 5% (5/103) had tweets about NM/NR. Only 9% (8/88) NM/NR PDs were on Twitter, and three PDs tweeted about NM/NR. The survey revealed a lack of clarity and resources for using Twitter, although the respondents acknowledged a perceived value of Twitter engagement for attracting younger trainees.

Conclusions:

Currently, there is minimal Twitter engagement by the academic NM/NR community. The identifiable obstacles are balanced by perceived value in engagement. Not increasing the social media presence is a missed opportunity for trainees, colleagues, and the public with respect to the value of this subspecialty. Clinical Trial: None