Twitter bios are interesting. They offer a tiny window into who we are. Recently I stumbled on a cardiologist who wasn’t just a cardiologist. He was a (Insert name of Ivy League institution) cardiologist. He used his institution as a specific qualifier to define the very kind of cardiologist he believed he was.
Twitter has grown lots of academic leaders in medicine who are defining the field but choose to identify simply as cardiologists. No preceding institutional adjective. And there are cardiologists doing amazing work in small towns and places we’ve never heard of. There is nothing to define these doctors except for a good reputation and grateful patients.
Sharing where we work is expected. But applying a qualifier to our specialty designation defines us as different. And not in a good way.
The world is noisy and how we are seen and understood by a viewing public is a new professional responsibility. But the trick of sharing our accomplishments and accolades is knowing how to toot your horn without blowing it.
Cast iron doctor modified via Flickr
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