Social media as a tool to rewrite the narrative for women in cardiothoracic surgery

STATE-OF-THE-ART Cite this article as: Stamp NL, Luc JGY, Ouzounian M, Bhatti F, Hici TN, Antonoff MB. Social media as a tool to rewrite the narrative for women in cardiothoracic surgery. Interact CardioVasc Thorac Surg 2019;28:831–7. Social media as a tool to rewrite the narrative for women in cardiothoracic surgery ADULT CARDIAC Interactive CardioVascular and Thoracic Surgery 28 (2019) 831–837 doi:10.1093/icvts/ivy358 Advance Access publication 31 January 2019 Nikki L. Stampa,*, Jessica G.Y. Lucb, Maral Ouzounianc, Farah Bhattid, Tamara Ni Hicie and Mara B. Antonofff a b c d f * Corresponding author. Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Transplantation, Fiona Stanley Hospital, 11 Robin Warren Drive, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia. Tel: +61-412-149102; e-mail: (N.L. Stamp). Received 26 September 2018; received in revised form 4 December 2018; accepted 6 December 2018 Summary To deliver the best possible care, the global surgical workforce should mirror the diverse society it is entrusted to serve. Cardiothoracic surgery remains amongst the most under-represented of the surgical specialties for women. Herein, we describe the role of social media in the cardiothoracic surgery community and its potential to rewrite the narrative for women in cardiothoracic surgery. Keywords: cardiothoracic surgery workforce • diversity • social media • women C The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved. V e Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery & Transplantation, Fiona Stanley Hospital, Murdoch, WA, Australia Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, Toronto General Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada University of Swansea, Wales, UK Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Morriston Hospital, ABMU, Swansea, UK Department of Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA 832 N.L. Stamp et al. / Interactive CardioVascular and Thoracic Surgery INTRODUCTION The emerging role of social media in healthcare In recent years, as worldwide utilization of social media has grown exponentially, the exploitation of its potential benefits by physicians has been slow, particularly among surgeons [11, 12]. Individual physicians, hospitals and medical organizations have been appropriately cautious, with good reason. Reported concerns have included reluctance to engage in casual interactions, avoiding the oversharing of inappropriate or inaccurate information and the potential public presentation of any representation that could detrimentally impact the respect of our patients and colleagues [13]. Apprehensive about potential vulnerability, surgeons have thoughtfully considered the impact of their online content, focussing on prevention of violations of patient privacy How the cardiothoracic surgery community connects online The Cardiothoracic Surgery Network (CTSNet) [19] was one of the pioneering websites with a mission to connect the global cardiothoracic community. CTSNet is a not-for-profit organization jointly overseen by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) and the European Association for Cardiothoracic Surgery (EACTS) [20]. With its primary visibility via its website, CTSNet functions as a portal for online education resources, including videos, journals, interviews with noted surgeons and learning resources for trainees. It also includes profile pages for cardiothoracic surgeons, a job board and link to major cardiothoracic surgery journals. CTSNet was established in 1996 [20] and continues to grow and provide more information to surgeons and trainees, including ways to connect with and contact other users via a surgeon’s directory. Social media has emerged as a modern and effective tool in the online world of cardiothoracic surgery. The importance of harnessing the power of social media has been recognized by two of the leading journals in the field, The Annals of Thoracic Surgery and The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, who have jointly sponsored the establishment of the Thoracic Surgery Social Media Network (TSSMN) [21]. The TSSMN collaborative aims are to bring social media attention to key articles and highlight accomplishments within the specialty. Key leaders in cardiothoracic surgery and innovators in social media were selected to spearhead this project as delegates for the TSSMN, tweeting under the hashtag #TSSMN and in support of the organizational handle @TSSMN. On Twitter, among all TSSMN delegates as of September 2018, there are currently 153 853 For more than a decade, women medical students have comprised nearly half of their student bodies; however, upon graduation, women remain significantly under-represented in a number of key specialties [1], including most surgical fields [2, 3]. This imbalance in representation of sexes has been particularly slow to change in the area of cardiothoracic surgery. The American Board of Thoracic Surgery (ABTS) certified its first 3 female diplomats in 1961, and it took until 1980 for the total number of women with ABTS certificates to reach 10 [4]. Nonetheless, since that era, the presence of women in the field of cardiothoracic surgery has grown dramatically. Over time, female leaders have ascended the ranks, achieved positions of prominence, and continue to change the perception of what it means to be a cardiothoracic surgeon [5, 6]. Such changes are highly welcomed, and the future for women cardiothoracic surgeons looks brighter than ever. To enable our field to grow, we must continue to adapt, to allow cardiothoracic surgery to attract the best and brightest trainees, regardless of sex (or race, age or sexual orientation). We have made enormous strides, but leaders in our field seeking additional growth must be cognizant of the fact that, at this point in time, women still represent a gross minority, accounting for <4% of diplomats ever certified by the ABTS and fewer than 5% of practicing cardiothoracic surgeons [4, 6]. Academic surgery is an area of cardiothoracic surgery in which women remain less likely than men to become full professors despite adjustment for age, years since residency, publication number, clinical trials participation, grants and surgical subspecialty [7, 8]. Women continue to be under-represented as grand rounds speakers, visiting professors, leaders of national organizations, members of grant panels and editorial boards [9]. As of February 2018, the editorial boards of the four most prominent cardiothoracic surgery journals, Interactive CardioVascular and Thoracic Surgery, European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, are comprised of 8%, 6%, 8% and 18% women, (...truncated)