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We are successfully communicating with the pathology community in 140 characters. Why aren’t you?
This month we’re talking social media. We’re talking about it a lot. Why? Based on what the experts are telling us, pathology really needs it.
At The Pathologist, our prime aim is to keep our ear to the ground and to discuss the issues at the beating heart of pathology. And that includes the things that need to be celebrated and eagerly-anticipated, as well as those that are throwing up obstacles. The noises we hear from the ground about challenges are loud and clear; they go something like this: financial constraints, lack of recognition, negative perception, escalating workloads, poor sway with government policy, lack of public awareness, difficulties in attracting new talent and training… Sound familiar?
Social media could help. For me, Queen Rania of Jordan – a somewhat unexpected social media guru – sums up both the equalizing nature and the potential power of modern communication tools: “Social media are a catalyst for the advancement of everyone’s rights. It’s where we’re reminded that we’re all human and all equal. It’s where people can find and fight for a cause, global or local, popular or specialized, even when there are hundreds of miles between them.”
Indeed, by providing pathologists with platforms to reach outside the workplace and into the view of policymakers and the public, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn – whatever your preference – can actually help drive change. Despite some of the controversy around its use (cue inappropriate video footage, indecent photos and government information leaks), it’s a tool that can create global superstars, lobby government policy, bring criminals to justice, or generate protest rallies within hours… Used wisely, it’s extremely powerful.
The profession needs what Tim Allen refers to as a “force multiplier”; something that overcomes the “seemingly insurmountable limitation of [pathologist] numbers” and “increases the effect of a force” (1). The force multiplier that pathologists need, he tells us in this month’s cover feature, is social media.
The road less trodden will always be an unnerving one, so it’s natural that many pathologists will feel reluctant to try out social media for professional reasons. But trust me (and I’m one of a few people above toddler age who doesn’t have a Facebook account), engaging with social media can be as quick and easy as you like. But the result? It could be game-changing.
- 1.TC Allen, “Social media: pathologists’ force multiplier,” Arch Pathol Lab Med, 138, 1000–1 (2014). PMID: 25076289.
After graduating with a pharmacology degree, I began my career in scientific publishing and communications. Now with more than 16 years of experience in this field, my career has seen me heading up editorial and writing teams at Datamonitor, Advanstar and KnowledgePoint360 group. My past experiences have taught me something very important – that you have to enjoy working with, and have respect for your colleagues. It’s this that drew me to Texere where I now work with old colleagues and new. Though we are a hugely diverse team, we share several things in common – a real desire to work hard to succeed, to be the best at what we do, never to settle for second best, and to have fun while we do it. I am now honored to serve as Editor of The Pathologist and Editorial Director of Texere Publishing.
