Abstract | May 5, 2023

Analysis of Social Media Posts that Promote Women Surgeons

Carly Stevens, BS

Katie Merk, Undergraduate Student, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA; Victoria Ierulli, MS, Research Editor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA ; Mary K. Mulcahey, MD, Assistant Program Director, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA

Learning Objectives

  1. Instagram is more prominently used than Twitter by physicians for promoting women surgeons
  2. Women surgeons more commonly use personal and outcome-based content to promote themselves on Instagram
  3. Female orthopaedic surgeons should use the hashtag #womeninortho to promote their practice and provide mentorship to future surgeons

Background/Knowledge Gap: Social media platforms, such as Instagram and Twitter, have rapidly grown over the past two decades and serve as powerful tools to promote female surgeons. The purpose of this study was to analyze the content, interaction, and use of posts related to women surgeons on Instagram and Twitter, with specific analysis of female orthopaedic surgeon related content. Methods/Design: A retrospective search of Instagram and Twitter between the dates March 14, 2022 and June 16, 2022 was conducted using the hashtags, #womeninortho, #womeninorthopedics, #ilooklikeasurgeon, #womensurgeons, and #womeninsurgery. On Twitter, additional searches of #orthotwitter in combination with #ilooklikeasurgeon, #womensurgeons, and #womeninsurgery were performed. Once identified, posts were analyzed for the hashtag used, number of likes, comments, and retweets (Twitter only), source type, post type, and medical specialty. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data.

Results/Findings: Over the 3-month period, a total of 3,248 posts were identified that included 1,669 (54.4%) Instagram posts and 1,639 (49.5%) Twitter posts. For non-orthopaedic specific hashtags, the overall majority of posts and posts on Instagram were made by general (32.3%, 28.9%), plastic (12.7%, 22.1%), and orthopaedic surgeons (8.3%, 7.8%). On Twitter, general surgeons tweeted the most (35.6%), followed by orthopaedic surgeons (8.8%). Instagram also had a greater mean number of likes and comments per post than Twitter. For orthopaedic specific hashtags, #womeninortho was used more than #womeninorthopedics on both platforms (78.0% vs. 22.0%, p < .001). On #orthotwitter, #ilooklikeasurgeon was used more than #womeninsurgery and #womensurgeons (75.0% vs. 23.6% vs. 1.4%, p < .001).

Conclusions/Implications: This study demonstrated that both Instagram and Twitter are regularly used to promote women surgeons. With the current lack of female representation in surgery, social media can connect others with similar interests. Instagram is the preferred platform of physicians for promoting women surgeons via personal and outcome-based content. Female orthopaedic surgeons should continue to use the preferred hashtag, #womeninortho, to maximize posts of related content. By promoting women surgeons on social media, practicing surgeons can converse, collaborate, and provide mentorship to the next generation of surgeons.

 

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