The NSMC Social Media Internship.
Founded in 2015, the goal of the Nephrology Social Media Collective (NSMC) internship is to cultivate leaders in medicine by instilling confidence, knowledge, competence, and professionalism in the use of social media. The collective refers to the loose affiliation of individuals who make up our faculty. They are engaged (listed below) in a wide variety of learning tools that are free to access (we call them FOAMed for free open access medical education). The internship is supported by NephJC, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing education in nephrology worldwide. The 5 member board of directors is listed below.
Joel Topf, president
Swapnil Hiremath, vice president
Matt Sparks, treasurer
Anna Burgner
Michele Rheault, secretary
If you would like to support NephJC, you can find out more here. To date, 116 individuals have completed the year long curriculum described below.
Matt Sparks
Program Director of the NSMC Internship
Current Curriculum
Version 5
Goals
Competency with Twitter Twitter is currently the best way to communicate ideas and share experiences in social media. Therefore, competency and mastery of Twitter is an essential skill. This goal will be achieved through hands-on learning through NephJC journal clubs and direct feedback from mentors. Interns will also learn how to curate Tweets through the use of Twitter Moments.
Engagement Two-way communication is a key component of social media and how ideas are advanced in academic medicine. Our goal is to give interns the confidence to engage in discussions about medical topics through Twitter, blogs, and other platforms.
Mentorship Mentorship is required for the successful transition from intern to faculty. The NSMC internship’s foundation is predicated on direct pairing of experienced mentors that have become leaders in social media and medicine with interns.
Professionalism We recognize that professionalism is the bedrock of all of our activities both in our day-to-day activities and online. We have developed a curriculum to discuss best practices in the realm of online professionalism. All of our faculty adhere to these principles.
Academic advancement We believe social media activities as related to medicine can have academic merit. It is imperative that proper quantification and discussion of these activities be included in our CVs and promotion packages. We help interns with this process.
FOAMed The overarching goal of the NSMC internship is the principle of free online medical education (FOAMed). NSMC interns will become curators and creators of FOAMed and recognize that open and collaborative education has the greatest cumulative impact for society.
Two key publications about the NSMC
Mentorship in the Digital Age
Silvi Shah and Joel Topf (2019)
Training the Public Physician: The Nephrology Social Media Collective Internship
Madhuri Ramakrishnan, Matthew A. Sparks, Samira S. Farouk (2020)
What is the NSMC?
The Nephrology Social Media Collective is a loose collection of FOAMed sites and activities that teach nephrology to the world. Key members of the NSMC include:
How is the NSMC Supported?
In addition to being a nephrology journal club, NephJC is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to education. Since 2019, NephJC has been recognized by the United States IRS as a 503c3. We accept donations to support our educational activities. Learn more.
How can I join the NSMC Internship?
The NSMC internship spans each year from February to December. Applications can be submitted from late December to January. An announcement will notify individuals who are interested in applying. The application process is refined each year after consultation with the NSMC executive committee. We suggest that if you have an interest in the internship that you begin to explore social media by engaging with others on Twitter or other social media offerings, writing blog posts, and getting familiar with a variety of ways to have a public discourse in medicine. We look forward to your application.
How can I read more about FOAMed in nephrology?
Below is a small sampling of articles written by past interns and faculty of the NSMC. Take a look.
Sparks MA et al. Embracing the Internet as a Means of Enhancing Medical Education in Nephrology. Am J Kidney Dis. 2011 Oct;58(4):512-8. PMID 21840099
Cameron CB et al. Does Academic Blogging Enhance Promotion and Tenure? A Survey of US and Canadian Medicine and Pediatric Department Chairs. JMIR Med Educ. 2016 Jun 23;2(1):e10. PMID 27731858
Topf JM et al. The Evolution of the Journal Club: From Osler to Twitter. Am J Kidney Dis. 2017 Jun;69(6):827-836. PMID: 28233653
Colbert GB et al. The Social Media Revolution in Nephrology Education. Kidney Int Rep. 2018 Feb 17;3(3):519-529. 2018 May. PMID: 29854960
Thomas B et al. NephJC Primer on Twitter Journal Clubs. Version 1.4. www.NephJC.com/Primer September 10, 2018.
Farouk S, Sparks MA. Renal Fellow Network: Past and Future. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2018 Sept 14. PMID: 30217899
Graham-Brown MPM, Oates T. Social Media in Medicine: A Game Changer? Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2017 Nov 1;32(11):1806-1808. PMID: 29040736
Farouk SS, Hilburg R, Sparks MA. Design, Dissemination, and Assessment of NephSIM: A Mobile-Optimized Nephrology Teaching Tool J Grad Med Educ.Dec 2019. PMID: 31871574
Seminars in Nephrology special issue dedicated to social media in nephrology.