Social media is the burgeoning frontier of knowledge translation (KT) – indeed some would say a thriving mainstay. However, despite social media’s growing popularity and relevancy, many researchers and clinicians in palliative care have been reluctant to embrace it.

In our workshop on social media at International Congress on Palliative Care 2012, Shelly Cory, Executive Director and I examined Canadian Virtual Hospice's use of the social web and shared our insights, stories and lessons learned. We set out to demystify the social web and explain how it can be leveraged to disseminate research and aggregate knowledge.  

But we didn’t want to limit the presentation to just our experience. We decided to open the four walls of the room to the four corners of the earth using Twitter, asking our followers to demonstrate the potential of social media and share how they use them. We switched the screen from our slides to the Twitter feed to show the tweets that were being sent to us from around the world using the conference hashtag #PAL12.  

Within minutes palliative care professionals, educators, and patient advocates joined us virtually from Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US. Here’s an overview of some of the responses or read the full transcript.  

Social media and knowledge translation:

• @doctorgrimes: Using Social Media to help me feel less isolated in rural Canada when practicing #HPM [hospice palliative medicine] #PAL12
• @kate_ehospice: Social media has great potential to reduce isolation and increase knowledge sharing in #hospice and #palliative care. #PAL12   
• @doctorgrimes: SM allows us to work with each other, look for and receive feedback on questions we have in practice #HPM #PAL12
• @PedPalASCNET: will use Twitter and other SM [social media] to communicate our research. Enjoying #PAL12 presentation on SM   
• @AdvanceCarePlan: Social media allows us to share our campaign with the world and to learn from others #PAL12      
• @best_endings: [SM can help] dispel myths/educate about palliative care's pov [point of view]: from cure to comfort #Pal12 
• @drleeroyw: We have encouraged the learning directly from patient stories and are trying to use social media to involve patients and carers #pal12  

Social media and continuing education, staying informed

• @ravipm2000: For the newbies, you will not regret tapping into this resource on twitter. Info finds you instead of it being the other way around! #PAL12   
• @ravipm2000: Up to date info on twitter also gives user the "advanced notice" of medical news much more quickly than traditional news outlets. #PAL12  
• @jfclearywisc: I now use #hcsm [health care social media] as my main source of #CME [continuing medical education]. Journals, blogs, websites, mostly Twitter 3 times/day - more at conferences #pal12  

Tweetchats help filter for relevant information and people

• @WaywardChad: Twitter & tweetchats: great resource for those new to #hpm, whatever discipline. Knowledge gleaned will make me better social worker. #pal12    
• @best_endings: Tweeps [people using Twitter] in this space - #hpm #eolchat #dwdchat - are welcoming, encouraging and supportive #Pal12    
• @doctorgrimes: Being able to attend the #HPM chats helps to keep me current #PAL12
• @annwax: I find interesting and informative people on the #HPM chats. #PAL12
• @jfclearywisc: #hpmglobal chat is every Monday at 8 am Eastern time. #pal12  

Helpful tips   

• @jfclearywisc: Tips - 1. Don't be "on" all the time. Make a time for it. 2. Follow hashtags, e.g. #hpmglobal 3. Tweet 120 char [so others can retweet] #PAL12      
• @drleeroyw: Takes time and the right mix of content to build trust and engage #pal12  

Following the people mentioned in this article is a great place to start building your social capital.

For more tips, read Jim Cleary’s article 'Palliative Care and Social Media'. We look forward to hearing from you on Twitter @VirtualHospice.  

Do you have a social media question to ask or tip to share? Reach out and let the rest of the world know about it.