Deborah Simpson

Use of Social Media to Promote Continuous Learning: A Phased Strategy for Graduate Medical Education Fellowship Implementation

Figure 1. Reported frequency of account access by users on our Twitter account. BACKGROUND • Popular sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are often employed to promote and make available breaking news or communication. • These broadcast/networking technologies are increasingly recognized as offering many benefits that can be effectively integrated into medical education utilizing currently available platforms such as smart phones and tablet computers.

White Coat Ceremony as a Professional Identity Formation Activity in a United States Family Medicine Residency Program

Introduction White coat ceremonies (WCCs) in medical school mark the transition of students to medicine, beginning their professional identity formation as a physician. However, a literature/web search revealed a paucity of residency-focused WCCs. Methods A 90-minute Family Medicine Residency (FM) WCC was designed to support residents’ professional identity formation as a specialty physician. Through faculty narratives and brief histories of the white coat and the specialty, the WCC concludes with new residents donning their specialty embroidered white coats. A brief e-survey was sent to attendees, and WCC leaders were debriefed to determine the value and key elements of WCC. Results Seventy-nine percent of survey respondents (34/43) agreed that the WCC is an important transition event for residents’ identity while reaffirming FM values for faculty/staff. WCC leaders identified critical steps for initiating a WCC. Conclusion A resident WCC formally marks the transition to specialty physician identity. Lessons Learned Ceremony structure will evolve over time.