Media

Six Smart Doctors to Follow on Social Media

Several years ago I wrote a white paper called The Social Physician. Back then, it was relatively easy to keep track of the socially engaged doctors because there were so few. Today all that has changed as more and more physicians flock to Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, blogs, and beyond. Here are six doctors I follow in social media, all of them practicing and all worthy of your attention. I focused on practicing doctors because they choose to engage on top of all their clinical responsibilities. For them, social media is an important way to stay connected with patients, peers, and the world outside their office.

Dr. Wendy Sue Swanson
Website: http://seattlemamadoc.seattlechildrens.org/
Twitter: @SeattleMamaDoc

Known to her legion of fans (of which I am one) as SeattleMamaDoc, Dr. Swanson is one of the most eloquent medical writers in the social sphere. A pediatrician, she is an avid blogger for Seattle Children’s Hospital where she covers everything from swimming safety to measles outbreaks. Her recent post on the hiring of Jenny McCarthy on The View is indicative of her passion and willingness to take a stand on important, even controversial, issues. She also uses video effectively to educate, such as teaching parents about bike helmets. Dr. Swanson is pretty amazing.

Dr. Zubin Damania
Website: http://zdoggmd.com
Twitter:  @zdoggmd

Known by his alter ego ZDoggMD, this Las Vegas-based internist and hospitalist is a wannabe rapper/comedian/reality show star in scrubs. He is funny, sometimes hilarious, as he sings about everything from insurance paperwork to prostate cancer. My favorite video is one in which he gets his psychiatrist mother ZMommMD to “lay down the smack” on his internist father ZDaddMD. Seriously, though, I think that ZDogg makes medicine more accessible and relevant to the public and that’s a good thing.

Dr. Nina Shapiro
Website: http://www.drninashapiro.com/
Twitter: @drninashapiro

Parenting young children is hard enough, and when they start with the constant coughing, noses that ooze, and ear maladies it’s time for a visit to Dr. Nina Shapiro’s website. While the Internet is never a replacement for a visit to the doctor, as director of pediatric otolaryngology at UCLA, Dr. Shapiro blogs, tweets, and updates Facebook with practical, trustworthy content for parents struggling with snot, boogers, and beyond. One of my favorite posts was Am I a Mean Mom? which challenges parents to let their kids experience the world – even if hurts a little – instead of constantly shielding them from it. Most recently, Dr. Shapiro joined the vaccine conversation with an op-ed in the L.A Times called With fewer vaccinations, is your child’s school safe? Can you tell I follow strong, smart women?

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