CHAPTER SPOTLIGHT: APIC Greater LA chapter #3 Take back your hashtags An infection preventionist’s guide to Twitter by angela Vassallo, mPh, mS, CiC HAVE YOU EVER been to Los Angeles? If you infection prevention conversation. Once “Whether we choose to be have, you probably remember the beauti- you get the hang of it, you’ll see it’s an part of the conversation on ful weather, the picturesque views from easy and beneficial way to obtain timely social media in regards the canyons to the ocean, the lean and infection prevention information, engage well-dressed people, and of all things— with peers, improve communications dur- to infection prevention the traffic. It can take us Angelenos two ing disasters, and ensure IPs are represented or not, the world’s ability hours to go 10 miles during rush hour. So in the public eye. to share news and get as a result, we’ve become experts at find- GETTIng CREATIVE TO information instantaneously ing creative and crafty ways to get where we need to go in a rush. We often start ImpROVE COmmUNICATIONS has already left the station, off meetings and parties comparing how APIC GLA is constantly looking for bet- and we’re late to the train.” attendees arrived to our new destination. ter methods to communicate quickly and “You took the 101? Seriously. Are you mad? efficiently with such an expansive, diverse How long have you lived in LA? Oh, well audience. We decided that the easiest and that explains it; you’re still a new transplant. cheapest way for us to promote infection I recommend you try the Cahuenga Pass and prevention in our community and engage then make a turn at...” And so our days go, our members was to improve our online attempting to connect with one another presence. in the City of Angels. By early 2014, APIC GLA was the first Now imagine you are a member of APIC chapter to create Facebook and the second largest APIC chapter in the Twitter accounts. As fate would have it, U.S.—Greater Los Angeles (GLA), chap- national APIC was in the midst of improv- ter #3 and your monthly meetings are ing its online presence, as well as that of held on Tuesdays at noon in downtown local chapters at about the same time. Thus, Los Angeles. And hence, you understand we worked with national APIC to develop our predicament. Our chapter serves Los our own APIC GLA website: http://com- Angeles County, which has more than munity.apic.org/greaterlosangeles/home. 100 hospitals and more than 10 million You don’t need to love social media to use people in a 4,000 square mile radius.1 We it and benefit from it. Although I constantly have more than 200 members, including refer people to our new, shiny website, I’m infection preventionists (IPs), epidemiolo- not a Facebook or Instagram lover. I am, gists, nurses, microbiologists, pharmacists, however, a recent Twitter convert. I think doctors, and vendors. there is a major difference in the useful- With this in mind, our chapter uses ness of these applications—especially with social media to engage members and regard to daily infection prevention work. others in our community around the Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest seem 26 | SUMMER 2015 | Prevention Angela’s Twitter cover photo shows her during interview with comedian Judy Greer on public restrooms for the web series, “Reluctantly Healthy” at https://screen.yahoo.com/reluctantly-healthy/dirty-truth-public-restrooms-040000010.html. to be most useful for communities to chat, tweeting with interesting people about already communicated with my peers at share pictures and invitations to events, and exciting infection prevention/infectious UCLA to get more information and offer exchange ideas. I often look at national disease topics while in my pajamas on the them a hand. Next case in point, during APIC’s Facebook page (www.face book.com/ sofa at night—no make-up and minimal the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, APICInfectionPreventionandYou) to see what’s effort on my part. Yes, please! Sign me up I used Twitter to get up-to-the-minute happening in our community. But if I have tout de suite. information. Healthcare workers, govern- a question that I need answered right now, Let me give you a couple of examples to ments, news agencies, and pretty much I go to Twitter. Social media applications illustrate my point further. Although my everyone who had a major stake in the can be brilliant tools for staying connected hospital is only four blocks from UCLA, outbreak were tweeting information as in today’s world. I found out about the recent CRE out- it happened. I remember seeing the news Twitter is an immediate and concise way break with ERCP duodenoscopes first on on Twitter that Dr. Kent Brantley and for people to get information. In a recent Twitter when UCLA tweeted the infor- Marian Wrightbold were being flown to CID article, Twitter was promoted as “the mation. Several hours later when I came the U.S. as they boarded the plane. And only platform that allows one to connect, home from work that day, I saw it on the by the time I got home that night to watch engage, learn, and educate oneself and oth- evening news. Keep in mind that by the the evening news, it was, to be frank, old ers in real-time on a global scale.”2 When time I saw it on the evening news, I had news. The Internet had already exploded I read these words, I envisioned myself already known about it for hours and had with conversations about Ebola in the U.S. www.apic.org | 27 CHAPTER SPOTLIGHT: APIC Greater LA chapter #3 before the evening news could even air TOP SIX REASONS TO USE TWITTER AS AN IP Organizations to the ‘breaking’ story. If used appropriately, it could be a vir- follow on Twitter Whether we choose to be part of 1 tual listserv available 24/7. In addition the conversation on social media in to using IPTalk (www.apic.org/MyAPIC), APIC @apic regards to infection prevention or not, all you would have to do is look at Twitter the world’s ability to share news and to get your answers on hot topic infection AJIC @ajicjournal get information instantaneously has prevention issues at that very moment. CDC @cdcgov already left the station, and we’re late Warning: there is no guarantee that the WHO @who to the train. No one really reads the answers will be accurate. So do your own newspaper anymore and most people research and check sources. CBIC @cbic don’t wait for the evening news to learn It could be used to improve communi- (They tweet CIC and SARE test what is happening in the world right 2 cation during disasters. Right after the questions on a weekly basis) now. I understand how social media first plane hit the World Trade Center, APIC GLA @apicglac can seem like one more thing to do in I was frantically trying to call my father your already overloaded life. However, who works in downtown Manhattan. APIC DFW @apicdfw social media can enhance our work as Cell phones were jammed for hours and APIC Kentucky @kyapic42 IPs. At work, I am constantly looking families like mine sat in panic waiting to IPS @ips_infection for information and asking questions, get through. It still chokes me up today. (Infection Prevention and I know you are, too. He later got through to let me know that Society in the UK) The issues you are facing at work he was fine. But I’ll say it now because today could be easily and quickly dis- I say it all the time—I wish our family IPAC @ipaccanada cussed on Twitter, in addition to APIC’s had been using Twitter on 9/11. (Infection Prevention and IPTalk—as long as you are maintain- Viral forecasting/digital epidemiology Control Association in Canada) ing confidentiality and understanding 3 are changing the way we understand ID Week @idweek2015 that all information has limitations. how diseases move and mutate. Dr. Wouldn’t it be helpful to quickly write Nathan Wolfe presented the APIC 2013 SHEA @shea_epi a question down and within seconds Annual Conference closing plenary on IDSA @idsainfo have people respond with answers? this very topic. Imagine the immediate usefulness of You can instantly network with your Twitter during a survey or response to 4 peers. I’ve met some really interesting a disaster. and helpful IPs in Canada and the UK 28 | SUMMER 2015 | Prevention “The more IPs join and use social media sites, the more represented we’ll be in the public eye.” on Twitter. Shout-out to our IP peer in created my account last year it was, “ fol- Toronto, Canada (@barleychironda), lowing interesting things and fascinat- the most prolific IP tweeter in the world! ing people.” Then, I decided to make it You would be staying up to date— more interesting. So now it is, “small but 5 even to the very minute—when mighty epileptic epidemiologist.” Perhaps infection prevention issues occur it is a bit TMI (too much information around the world. about me), but which person would you Learn more at the The more IPs join and use social media rather follow? 6 sites, the more represented we’ll be in Follow people/organizations who APIC 2015 the public eye. Perhaps you’ve heard the 3 interest you and watch what they Annual Conference phrase “the world is getting smaller.” tweet in your “timeline.” Find Want to learn more about social media? Don’t Infectious diseases that exist in one part Twitter mentors and follow them.