This workshop aims to encourage health professionals such as GPs to begin using social media as an educational tool. It was originally run at GP13, the RACGP Annual Scientific Convention in Darwin, Oct 2013.

The workshop has been written by:

Dr Justin Coleman and

Dr Tim Senior.
Screenshots captured using http://kwout.com/

We are happy for others to share it.      
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.

Ten-Step Program*

(* To reverse Twitter addiction, see next month’s 12-step program)

1. Set up a new twitter account

Later, you can get a twitter app or edit your profile.

2. Enter the hashtag #GPtweets in your ‘search’ box.

Introduce yourself and include #GPtweets somewhere in the message.

3. Retweet any introductions you find funny, curious or clever.

If there are none, sneak out to Nicole Allard’s workshop next door.

4. Reply to one of the introductions.

View the conversation.

5. Follow another blogger in this room.

If you’re a flamboyant follower like Tim, follow 15 of them. Justin is a grumpy conservative follower who probably won’t follow you.

6. Go to @ connect

Congratulations if someone has RTed you. This should give you a buzzing feeling.

If not, keep trying.

7. Social media is all about sharing, and it is polite to attribute.

If you want to modify someone else’s wording, type MT at the start.

If you want to alert someone to your tweet because they may be interested, add their username at the end. You could add cc or attribute using via.

8. Search for the #GP13 hashtag and see if anything better is happening elsewhere.

Use #GP13 to make outsiders wish they were in here.

But don’t SHOUT unless you are selling Viagra.

9. Post a link.

Choose something interesting or, if desperate, post the link to this workshop https://drjustincoleman.com/

All links are shortened (or lengthened) to 22 characters; that leaves you with just 118!

“Nuh-Uh. Some guy on twitter just said you’re wrong!” By Macleod.

10. Congratulations! You are now a Geep Tweep and you are not alone:

@dchessor from @SoMeGP reckons tweeting from a conference is really useful.

@EdwinKruys keeps a list of Australian GP tweeps and bloggers

@croakeyblog by health journalist Melissa Sweet discusses health issues and policy

#FOAMed

@bmj_latest @MedObserver @DoctorKarl @fly_texan @RichardLehman1

Value-adding

• Assume that every tweet is public and permanent. Remember the Mayo Clinic’s 12-word social media policy:

Don’t Lie             Don’t Pry

Don’t Cheat       Can’t Delete

Don’t Steal         Don’t Reveal

• Or the more wordy RCGP (UK) Social Media Highway Code
• @amcunningham (GP in UK) You have a Twitter account… now what?

Anne Marie Cunningham
Found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/amcunningham72/7638973488/

• Tweetdeck is useful for multiple usernames or separating out your interests.

Ben Sanders, Medical Observer

Happy tweeting!