APRIL 24, 2024
Originally published by our sister publication Pharmacy Practice News
Should healthcare professionals, including pharmacists, take advocacy positions on public health issues on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or X (formerly Twitter)? It’s a complicated question with multiple pros and cons, which were discussed at the 2024 Critical Care Congress, in Phoenix.
It might seem reasonable to question whether a health professional should use
Originally published by our sister publication Pharmacy Practice News
Should healthcare professionals, including pharmacists, take advocacy positions on public health issues on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or X (formerly Twitter)? It’s a complicated question with multiple pros and cons, which were discussed at the 2024 Critical Care Congress, in Phoenix.
It might seem reasonable to question whether a health professional should use social media, given the potential downsides of taking public stances on potentially fraught issues, noted Ann-Marie Brown, PhD, APRN, a professor and an acute care pediatric NP specialty director at the Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, in Atlanta. “But social media is extremely effective for rapid dissemination of information and education,” she said.
The early days of the COVID-19 pandemic offered one such opportunity. Previous ways of spreading information—such as publishing papers or presenting data at a conference—proved insufficient. “We first learned about MIS-C [multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children] via tweets from the U.K.,” Dr. Brown said. “Doctors there were asking if we were seeing this same Kawasaki-like syndrome in kids, and we were.”
When misinformation or disinformation is promoted through social media, health professionals are the experts who can counter it with accurate, evidence-based information and clinical experience, said Deanna Behrens, MD, a pediatric critical care specialist with Advocate Children’s Medical Group based in the Chicago area. “People want to hear from us. We can influence discussions about issues; we can influence policy; we can make it real and personal,” she said. “I’ve put out tweets and had legislators contact me directly, as well as the media like CNN and NBC. People are listening to us.”
As one example of the power of clinicians’ social media advocacy, Drs. Behrens and Brown cited the #ThisIsOurLane campaign engaged in by critical care physicians after the National Rifle Association told doctors to “stay in their lane” on the issue of gun violence (N Engl J Med 2019;380[5]:405-407).
However, there are definite downsides when clinicians are outspoken on social media, particularly when the issue is controversial. “You can expect to be targeted by trolls and bots,” Dr. Brown said.
She cited the experience of a critical care physician and hospital system leader who had been very active in social media advocacy, while making clear she was not speaking on behalf of her hospital. That hospital was initially very supportive, but after the physician was asked to testify as an expert witness in state legislative hearings on three controversial healthcare-related bills, her institutional board started pushing back. As a public hospital, her institution received significant funding from the state budget. “A conservative supermajority was in control of the legislature, and they did not like her stances,” Dr. Brown said. “Ultimately, the hospital flipped their stance in support of her and on their healthcare delivery services, and she was pressured to change her testimony or have it censored. She declined and resigned from her leadership positions.”
Rules of Engagement
One of the many pharmacists active on social media is advanced clinical pharmacist Brittany Bissell, PharmD. “Prior to 2020 and 2021, most of my social media was focused on research, translation of evidence, and looking through the lens of the bedside pharmacist,” she recalled. “Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and I began to develop more awareness of things that were bigger than direct patient care, such as social justice issues that I had not been as aware of previously, and I also became more of an advocate for gender equality in pharmacy. So I decided it was time to speak out more.”
Today, Dr. Bissell’s X account (@BissellBrittany) disseminates a mixture of new research, clinical information, professional congratulations, and stances on issues including reproductive rights, healthcare for transgender individuals and racism in medicine. Reactions at the institutions where she has worked have been mixed, she said. “In some instances, folks were not necessarily comfortable with the information I was sharing or my representation of issues.”
Dr. Bissell takes several precautions on social media, such as not listing her institution with her posts. “I make it clear in my bio that I am not speaking for my institution, but for myself, and never divulge anything specific to a patient or anything internal to my institution,” she said.
Dr. Bissell also recommended setting social media time limits for yourself. “There is a fine balance between advocating for your patients and speaking out for your profession, and sacrificing your own mental health and well-being.”
The sources reported no relevant financial disclosures.
