1. A report of further uptake and growth in the use of Twitter as an educational tool at an anesthetic conference.
Douglas R A McKendrick; Grant P Cumming Dr Gray’s Hospital, Elgin, United Kingdom
Background
Most consider Twitter as a tool purely for social networking, with limited use to anesthesia. However, it has been used extensively as a tool for online discussion at non-medical and medical conferences, and academic benefits of this tool have been reported. Most anesthetists still have to adopt this new educational tool. There are only two previously published reports of the use of Twitter by anesthetists at an anesthetic conference [1, 2]. We report further on our work on the use of Twitter, a micro-blogging tool, at an anesthetic conference and the use of Twitter as an educational tool by anesthetists.
Results
What was Twitter used for during the congress?
Amplification Potential
477 tweets were posted under the #ACongress2012 hashtag representing increases of 110% and 1225% over similar conferences held six and twelve months previously.
63 people joined the Twitter stream by using this hashtag representing increases of 294% and 1475% over the two previous conferences respectively.
Methods
A unique Twitter hashtag (#ACongress2012) was created and promoted by the organizers of the Annual Conference held by The Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland (AAGBI) in Bournemouth in September Twitter activity was compared with Twitter activity previously reported for the AAGBI Winter Scientific Meeting (January 2012 in London) and the AAGBI Annual Conference (September 2011 in Edinburgh). All tweets posted were categorized according to the person making the tweet and the purpose for which they were being used (Table 1).
Growth in the use of Twitter through four Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland (AAGBI) congresses:
September 2011 Linkman Congress (#AAGBILinkman); September 2011 Annual Congress (#AAGBIcongress); January 2012 Winter Scientific Meeting (#WSM12); September 2012 Annual Congress (#ACongress2012)
Table 1: During the Congress
Main category
“Who was tweeting”
Sub-category
“Purpose of tweet”
Definition of tweet
Organiser
By the AAGBIa only
Trade
By anesthetic trade organisations, exhibitors or their representatives
Speakers
By any speakers at the conference who promoted, or discussed events during, their session
Anesthetists
By delegates attending the conference
By anesthetists not attending the conference but contributing to the Twitter stream
Notes or learning points
Posting tweets which contained gems of information from a talk or a workshop
Discussion
Discussing matters at the conference directly between each other
Posting controversial or non-learning points from a talk
Social
Personal discussions, social events such as dinners, coffee and lunch breaks
Social posts made by the organisers
Which session am I going to?
Tweets which described the session being attended stating the name of either the talk and or the speaker
Encouraging speakers
Tweets directed to speakers by way of encouragement or comment
Poster
Tweets about the posters on display
Questions
Tweets posing questions to speakers about their presentation
Not at Congress
Tweets by people who did not attend the conference except where those tweets directly involved discussion and encouraging a speaker
a Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland
Twitter was used more at this conference for discussions and debates than at either of the previous conferences.
Conclusions
Copyright Colin Purrington (
Total number of followers reached was people.
A further increase in uptake and growth in the use of Twitter at an anesthetic conference has been demonstrated.
42% growth over the conference held 6 months previously
Our earlier conclusion in JMIR [2] has been supported
A much wider international audience was reached than had previously been achieved
The opportunities and benefits for anesthesia education in the future have been further illustrated.
Other medical specialties involved for the first time.
References
McKendrick D. Smartphones, Twitter and new learning opportunities at anaesthetic conferences. Anaesthesia 2012; 67: 438–439.
McKendrick DR, Cumming GP, Lee AJ. Increased Use of Twitter at a Medical Conference: A Report and a Review of the Educational Opportunities. J Med Internet Res 2012;14(6):e176. URL:
Acknowledgments
The Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland who have promoted and encouraged Twitter use at their conferences.
All Tweeters who contributed to the Twitter stream.
Correspondence
For further information or a PDF copy of this poster please contact:
Department of Anaesthesia, Dr Gray’s Hospital, Elgin, IV30 8NP