A Twitter Starter
As a leader in healthcare, you have to stay on top of what's going on. You need access to great content to save you from reinventing the wheel. You want to see how others have worked on challenges. You also understand the need to connect with people, gain different perspectives and share great ideas with those around you. You also what to celebrate the great work you and your team are doing. So why wouldn't you use Twitter?
Social media can get a bit of an eye-roll - isn't it all fake news and celebrities? No, it isn't - it's all in the art and skill of engineering what you want to see based on what you are interested in and who you want to connect with.
I've got a few moments of your precious time to convince you of the value of Twitter for you and give you a beginner’s guide to the first steps to take to get you going and point you in the direction of where you can learn more.
Twitter is the number 1 social media site for sharing and influencing healthcare improvement. In an article in the Guardian, Helen Bevan (a healthcare Twitter guru in my opinion) said this:-
"Social media provides a phenomenal gateway to networks and connections and enables us to build communities with people with the same interests and challenges from across the globe. In a one-hour scheduled Twitter discussion, we can make 250,000 "impressions". I can pick up the latest trends and opinions instantly, and we are making increasingly good use of other virtual communication systems, such as online webinars. Social media has no regard for hierarchy. It is such a powerful enabler for the healthcare improvement movement and we need to ride the wave."
You should be interested enough now to at least take a peak. There are some great guides out there to help you take the first steps.
A great source of information is the WeNurses collective - here are their Twitterversity steps for someone new to Twitter. Are you already on Twitter and need the next steps? Then check out the graduate or professor guides. And this beginner’s guide has a wonderful breakdown of the phrases and words used (hashtag anyone).
Step 1
Create your Twitter account
Twitter will guide you through this step by step.
You'll need an email address and get to pick your Twitter name
Step 2
Follow and connect
Twitter will make suggestions for you - I've given you 5 to start with below
This is how to filter the stream of information, pick the stuff you are passionate about
Here are my top five to get you started.
Well......me
Helen Bevan
Teresa Chinn
The IHI
TEDx
Step 3
Personalise - or hatch your egg (don't be an egg)
Upload a photo and write a short bio
This helps people connect with you
2023 Update
There has been a lot of controversy about Twitter since Elon Musk took over. I’ve always curated enough so my Twitter feeds so it remains predominately healthcare-related content. I have though been a lot less into Twitter of late. Honestly, I can’t manage all the social media at once and have found a little groove with Linkedin, Facebook and Instagram. I will go to Twitter to find specifics - usually from Helen Bevan and the NHS improvement work who remain active and positive in that space.
