Social media has changed the way we communicate both personally and professionally. Not so long ago it was common to send invitations to a birthday party, wedding, or graduation by mail or deliver them by hand. Today we are more likely to send an email or a calendar invite through Facebook. The way we receive information has also changed drastically in the last 15 years. When I was young, my family started our day by reading the local newspaper, which was delivered to our home. In the evening, we watched the nightly news gathered around the family TV. Today, I don't remember the last time I read a physical paper. News outlets now offer online subscriptions and provide information blasts on social media sites alongside their traditional delivery methods. I read my fill of daily news on a website and see a smattering of information on social media sites.
As health care professionals we need to embrace these new ways to communicate, inspire, and educate those around us. Accepting new forms of mass communication reflects nurses’ commitment to embracing change and supporting better access to the ever-growing body of professional information. Both medical and nursing journals are embracing this modality to disseminate information. “Social media” platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook, provide new ways for medical journals and researchers to disseminate the findings of published articles to a broader audience than the usual journal-subscriber base.
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A journal's social media presence may influence the authors’ choice when submitting their work for publication.2
As the journal committed to perianesthesia nursing, we want to support our colleagues in publishing and growing the body of knowledge within our essential specialty.The Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing (JoPAN) professionals look for current research and best practice recommendations. Our colleagues’ great work is only as helpful as the length and speed of its reach. Early in my career, I would receive the newest edition of a journal by mail. I would put it aside and make a point to read it within the week it arrived. After reading it, I would bring it to work to share with my colleagues. Times have changed. We communicate and seek out information differently in 2023. While I still receive a hard copy of JoPAN, I almost exclusively read it online. The ease and convenience of logging into the website and quickly navigating through JoPAN to find the information I need has won me over.
In 2020, Advances in Nursing Science reported that 31% of nursing journals had a presence on social media. In 2022, they reported that 75% of nursing journals had at least one form of social media, with approximately half utilizing a social media director.
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JoPAN is officially joining the family of journals with a social media director. I have stepped forward to fill this newly created role, and I am excited to grow the social media presence of the journal.You may have noticed JoPAN's increased social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter in the last month or two. We have embraced the movement of professional journals toward a greater presence on social media. We hope that you will follow, like, share, and engage with us as we explore this path. We look forward to investigating options of social media platforms to offer that support dissemination of the knowledge found in our journal and reach new professional colleagues. You can find us on Facebook as Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing, Instagram @JOPAN_Journal, and Twitter @JOPANJournal, and email [email protected] We invite you to share your thoughts regarding the articles we share and platforms on which we share them. Your input will help us to support current and future readers.
References
- Making and measuring an impact in a digital world: the role of social media and the medical journal.J Am Geriatr Soc. 2019; 67: 1110-1112
- Career development tips for today’s nursing academic: bibliometrics, altmetrics and social media.J Adv Nurs. 2016; 72: 2654-2661
- An exploratory study of social media use and management by nursing journals.Adv Nurs Sci. 2022; 45: 218-226
Article info
Footnotes
Conflict of Interest: None to report.
Identification
Copyright
Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses.
