How Social Media Can Help Doctors Stay Up-to-Date

-
Physicians, like many other professionals, have continuing education requirements. We are exposed to the newest research and advances while in training, but after we pass our board exams and enter practice, the onus is on us to maintain our knowledge to current standards. Without regular reading and attendance at medical conferences, you can easily get left behind as medicine advances.

I am currently attending the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology in New Orleans. It is always a wonderful meeting, full of new information to bring home to my patients. I will be periodically tweeting medical information that I believe may be of interest to my readers: http://twitter.com/allergistmommy

Other colleagues will be doing the same- Matthew Bowdish, M.D. is an allergist who has shared information from past allergy conferences, and will be tweeting at http://twitter.com/matthewbowdish (His tweets from the Western Allergy Society meeting were great, and I'm sure those from AAAAI will be just as informative!)

Ves Dimov, M.D. is an allergy fellow and prolific tweeter, whose updates educate both physicians and patients on the science of allergy: http://twitter.com/allergy

Amazing how technology helps us share information so widely and quickly!

In a seminar earlier today, I shared with colleagues how I believe that using social media tools has made me a better physician. Because I have access to so much information, I read more, and learn more, than I could without these connections. Because I hear first-hand what patients/parents care about, I know what to spend time discussing during visits, and what to write about. So thanks, Twitter, Facebook, Blogger! You're an integral part of this physician's continuing medical education!

Comments

  1. AnonymousFebruary 27, 2010 at 1:05 AM

    make sure you visit booth #436 !! :-)

    a mom who would not have made it without KWFA

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for taking the time to comment on this blog's posts! Let's keep the discussion engaging and free of frivolous advertising or vulgarity. It's a family show, folks!

Popular posts from this blog

The Grotesquely Swollen Apple of My Eye- What to do When Bugs Attack Your Child's Face

-
Image
Son #2 woke up this morning looking like a streetfighter! Dramatic swelling of the eye(s) such as this can occur for a variety of reasons: 1. Allergic reaction to ingested food or drug (generally affects both eyes) 2. Direct contact with environmental allergen or food allergen (can affect one or both eyes) 3. Hereditary or acquired angioedema (can affect one or both eyes) 4. Injury (usually affects one eye) 5. Low protein levels (generally affects both eyes) 6. Infection (generally affects one eye) 7. Insect bite (can affect one or both eyes) In this case, my little one endured a mosquito bite at the outer corner of his left eye yesterday afternoon.  It was mildly swollen at the time, and became progressively worse as the night wore on. Does this mean he has a mosquito allergy? Actually, no more than anyone else.  Certain areas of skin, such as around the eyes and on the lips, are more loosely attached to underlying tissues and muscles than skin elsewhere on the body.  Thi
Read more

Keratosis Pilaris - Or, Why My Kid Looks Like a Plucked Chicken

-
Image
The skin is the body's largest organ. The condition of the skin is, in many ways, a window into our internal health. Therefore, it is only natural that people become immediately concerned by rashes. We often neglect our own elevated blood pressure, achey joints, or other ailments. The onset of a new rash, on the other hand, can quickly lead to a call to the doctor. Interestingly, there is one rash I see in my practice which rarely causes alarm among patients and parents. In fact, it is common for a parent to state, "Oh, that? His sister has that too. In fact, so do I!" Keratosis Pilaris is a common, heritable disorder which results in small bumps consisting of accumulated skin cells and keratin at the sites of hair follicles. It is especially common in people who have a history of allergies. Although it can be mildly itchy, the rash generally does not cause discomfort. Commonly described as "gooseflesh", keratosis pilaris can be a concern cosmetically, lea
Read more

Why Drug Allergies Matter (Or Why Penicillin Allergy is Responsible for My Son's Lopsided Neck)

-
Image
My 6 year son old just got over a rite of passage - strep throat and scarlet fever. Unfortunately, before we could even celebrate his recovery, I noticed a swelling on the left side of his neck. It was red and tender, and it was GROWING. The pediatrician in me worried, "Damn. Lymphadenitis (infected lymph node)". No sooner had we finished one course of antibiotics than we were onto another, and the side effects were bad enough to keep him out of school for another three days. Why did my munchkin suffer so? My answer: Drug allergy. Group A streptococcal bacteria (the cause of strep throat and scarlet fever) is remarkably sensitive to penicillin. Penicillin is the first choice treatment for strep throat, and has been proven to reduce the risk of developing rheumatic fever, a post-infectious complication which can result in chronic heart disease. Problem is, my son is allergic to antibiotics in the penicillin family. At 11 months of age (8 days into his second ever co
Read more