So why Twitter? Personally, I’ve only been involved in the Twitter community for a short time, and decided to actively use Twitter very recently, so I’m also learning the ropes still and getting used to its nooks and crannies.
However, in the short time that I’ve been active, the community has been nothing but inclusive, welcoming, generous and supportive.
I want to share my experiences with you, and help you get started with some accounts to follow. We’re all in this together, and with the difficult Covid-19 times that we’re all facing at the moment, I think it’s important to be able to reach out to others.
The relationships that we can form and the people that we can meet can prove to be a support network, or role models now and for the future. Personally, I have met some truly incredible students, seasoned radiographers, and other allied health professionals through Twitter.
We are all human, and we can really learn from each other through our shared collective experience, to build a better future for the allied health professions.
How to get things started:
As with all social media, there are several things to be careful of and to consider:
Be mindful of what you do post and share, as social media can be a daunting place and it can impact your professional career later down the line.
Be careful about privacy and don’t post anything that you’re not comfortable with. Check your privacy settings.
Perhaps consider using an alias or another name if you are not comfortable with using your real name.
Do be mindful of the university or organisation/company that you’re representing.
Avoid using a social media platform to take your anger out on people, organisations, or to bully others.
Do be cautious of your passwords, account, security and where you’re logged in.
Don’t use social media to post something that you would not be prepared to say to someone in real life.
Do speak to the SoR if you have any concerns about social media.
Only post as much as you’re comfortable in doing so, and remember that there is no pressure to retweet or tweet anything if you don’t want to.
If you need a break from social media, have a detox and take a break and come back when you’re ready. The community will welcome you back with open arms. Self care and wellbeing comes first.
Be careful about patient cases and information that you post - patient confidentiality is very important, and it’s imperative that you do not post anything that can be used to identify any patients that you meet or treat. Check your placement trust’s social media policy.
Tweets about the community from fellow members
I asked the Twitter community if they had any advice to share on joining the community, and if they could sum it up in one word. These were the amazing responses:
@OsteoRadJill: ‘Don’t be afraid to ask and seek role models, there is so much experience amongst us all’
@Ben_imaging: ‘My advice is to post as much as you are comfortable with. People are interested in students’ journeys. Also, talk to everyone! Everyone is friendly’
@BigRadTom: ‘Digital footprint. Always think before posting. Remember it's not compulsory, if it's getting in the way or affecting you, stop or take a break’
@gibsonc85: ‘Inclusive. It could be easy to be intimidated by it but everyone is super lovely and positive which is great’
@Studentzapper: ‘Main thing is to enjoy it, network, connect, ask people with lots of followers to promote when you first join to build up connections’
@KatieRad2021 ‘As someone who has only joined recently, I'd say it's a really friendly environment, great networking opportunity and useful for finding cool radiography resources (like pages that tweet pathologies and case studies)’
Some excellent accounts to follow:
Here is a list of notable accounts to follow and my reasons as to why they’re worth a follow. This isn’t an exhaustive list, however is a very good starting point.
The Society Of Radiographers:
SoRStudentReps - This is the SoR student reps account, they’re absolutely amazing with keeping students up to date with current events and tips on student life.
SCoRMembers - The Society and College of Radiographers' official Twitter account with news, opinion and guidance on diagnostic and therapeutic radiography. [This was taken directly from the bio section of SCoR’s account]
SCoREvents - The events team of the SCoR. Follow to keep up to day with webinars and other events that are often free!
Organisations and resources:
macmillancancer - Macmillan Cancer support.
CR_UK - Cancer Research UK.
RadiographyJour - A journal which is published by the SCoR by Elsevier.
radiopaedia - The famous radiography wiki on Twitter. They often post images with pathology quiz questions that draw an international audience.
MedRadJClub - An international Twitter journal club. The journals they choose span across diagnostic and
therapeutic in a wide range of topics. The monthly organised Twitter chats are a wealth of knowledge and insight.
WeAHPs - This account represents all the allied health professions and provides news and campaigns that affect us all.
radiologistpage - An education resource for anatomy and annotated imaging
ActionRTherapy - UK’s only charity dedicated to improving Radiotherapy.
RTherapy4life – UK’s Catch up with Cancer campaign, aiming to tackle & raise awareness of the UK’s Cancer treatments that have been affected by Covid-19.
NHS_HealthEdEng - NHS Health Education England - HEE
University departments:
CityUniDR - City University’s Diagnostic Twitter account.
CityUniRT - City University’s Therapeutic Radiography Twitter account.
LSBURadiography - London South bank University Diagnostic Twitter account
LsbuR - London South bank University Therapeutic Radiography Twitter account
UoDDiagnosticI1 - University of Derby Diagnostic imaging Twitter account
LeedsRadSoc - University of Leeds Radiography Society
BCURadiography - Birmingham City University’s dept. Of Radiography Twitter account
UHRadiotherapy - University of Hertfordshire’s Radiotherapy account
UOS_Radiography - Diagnostic Radiography and Therapeutic Radiography programmes at University of Suffolk
Notable people:
btesam_t - Btesam is City’s 3rd year SoR student rep, and often shares her tips and tricks on the degree.
Ben_imaging - Ben is an absolute treasure, he is a 1st year Diagnostic student at Birmingham City and communications officers of the UK SoR Student Rep forum. Follow him, and you’ll get a valuable insight to placement and his perspective on being a student.
NicholaJamison - Nichola is currently the SoR’s interim student support. She is a newly qualified Therapeutic Radiographer and offers valuable insight on student wellbeing and various student events. She’s a fantastic and captivating public speaker, so definitely listen to one of her webinars or speeches if you get the opportunity to.
Studentzapper - Valuable insight given here, and he offers such incredible and solid advice for student life and keeping it together!
BigRadTom - Tom is a lead practice educator and is a big advocate of students & education, offering an insightful outlook on studies.
SarahBradder - Sarah is a newly qualified therapeutic radiographer and was named the SoR UK student Therapeutic Radiographer of 2019.
SHURadiotherapy - Jo is a senior lecturer in radiotherapy at Sheffield Hallam university. She is a powerhouse on Twitter, offering advice and information about the profession.
SoRRachelHarris - Dr Rachel Harris is the Research Lead SCoR, and a Therapeutic Radiographer. She has a wealth of knowledge on research & I’ve personally learnt so much from her retweets.
EliseJWC - Elise is a radiotherapy student and the current chair of the UK SoR Student Rep forum.
charlb1995 - Diagnostic radiography student and vice-chair of the UK SoR Student Rep forum
BeverleyHarden - AHP leader for NHS England. She posts news and campaigns affecting England and is very supportive of student radiographers.
sideshow_jim - Jim is a research radiographer and author. His books include “Introduction to Intra-Operative and Surgical Radiography”.
SCoRCBeardmore - Charlotte Beardmore is director of professional policy for the SCoR and vice-president of the European Federation of Radiographers.
RichardEvans40 - Richard Evans is the CEO of the SCoR. He posts all about SCoR matters, national and international radiography and is a great supporter of students.
ChrisKalinka - Chris Kalinka is the President of the SCoR. He also posts about SCoR matters, national and international radiography and is a great advocate for students.
DrSarahNaylor - Dr Sarah Naylor is a senior lecturer at Derby and posts about interesting research.
UltrasoundPG - Gill is an associate professor and the professional Officer for Ultrasound in the SCoR. She posts about everything ultrasound and matters affecting sonographers. She is very supportive of students.
chloe_shand - Chloe is a lecturer in Diagnostic Radiography at Ulster University
kimbomeek - Kim Meeking is a Therapeutic Radiographer and shares a wide range of resources and interesting events and content.
HeidiProbst - Professor Heidi Probst is another powerhouse on Twitter and shares a range of resources and research.
eramanda - Amanda Er is a Radiographer & Clinical educator, graduating from Monash University, in Australia.
Happy Tweeting!
Note: Special thanks to Ben Potts and his help & contribution 😊