I'm sitting here in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio which is my old stomping grounds here in medical school. I just left my presentation at the Summa Akron City Hospital Ob/Gyn Department and trying to process and absorb what just happened. Thanks again to @DoctorViv for extending the invite to talk at the hospital. There were about 50 people there, and not just from the Ob/Gyn department. I was also told that there were attorneys in the room and asking questions.
Right out of the gate, I said, "Does the hospital block facebook & twitter for employees?" A groan came from the crowd. But, that's ok. I mean bringing someone like me in is a good first step for a hospital culture. Actually, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw a negative comment on the hospital FB page, and instead of deleting it, the hospital commented for the patient to call the hospital to clarify the situation. Impressive.
@DoctorViv stated that it would be a beginner audience, but I found that there were some advanaced people there as well. I even got a question about Pinterest. I got to meet cool people like @farquharj and @oh_nikita to talk about geeky stuff. I tried the hashtag #akroncity which captured some tweets.
I have a new challenge that @DoctorViv has given me: How to change hospital culture to make social media more acceptable, not only with the grassroots folks, but with those "in the C-Suite" (not C-section suite, but those in administration - those that have decision making power and resources).
Very interesting thing for me to think about. I may need information from my friend Chris Boyer and his "Social Media = ROI" talk (meaning return on investment). The bean counters really like to see social media somehow convert to dollars. Hmmm....
Something really cool is that the hospital video taped my talk, in addition to me bringing all of my video equipment. So, hopefully, I'll be able to share some video with all of you on this site soon. Not only do I love doing Social Media & Medicine talks, but also I love meeting new people and making new connections. So much fun!