This document discusses nutritionists using social media. It provides an example of the #RDUK Twitter forum started by the British Dietetic Association to discuss topics, raise the profile of registered dietitians, and provide continuing professional development. Guidelines are presented for engaging professionally on social media, such as maintaining separate personal and professional accounts and not discussing confidential information. The benefits of social media for dietitians are networking, educating the public, and raising awareness of health issues.

1. Nutritionists get Social: case study from the
BDA
Azmina Govindji RD
www.azminanutrition.com
@AzminaNutrition
All images via Google Images
on.fb.me/AzNutrition © Azmina Govindji Apr 2012

2. © Azmina Govindji Apr 2012

3. Outline
• Why engage with social media?
• Demystify terms - hashtags & handles!
• Case Study: #RDUK
• How to be part of it
• Risks and benefits
© Azmina Govindji Apr 2012

4. Why engage with social media?
• Misinformation out there
• Further your career & skills
• Networking: other HCPs/public
• Powerful platform to educate patients – source
of info!
• Raise awareness of health issues
• We’re good at our job
• Trusted
© Azmina Govindji Apr 2012

5. What might be ordinary to you is intriguing to others
© Azmina Govindji Apr 2012

6. It’s bread and butter stuff to us
© Azmina Govindji Apr 2012

7. Time to get social
© Azmina Govindji Apr 2012

8. The jargon…
• # hashtag – categorise topics, e.g. #breakfast
• Follow – people who’re saying something
interesting
• Handle – username e.g @AzminaNutrition
• @mention – reply / acknowledge
• Retweet (RT) – spreading someone else’s tweets
to your followers © Azmina Govindji Apr 2012

9. © Azmina Govindji Apr 2012

10. #RDUK – twitter forum
Why?
•USA & Australia - #rdchat & #eatkit
•Raise BDA profile / promote UK RDs
•Get more RDs using
•CPD: can print off storify archive and keep record of your
participation for portfolio.
•Networking
•Fewer quacks more experts
Who are the moderators?
•Sasha Watkins (@TheFoodCoachRD)
•Azmina Govindji (@AzminaNutrition)
•Emma Carder (@EmmaCarderRD) © Azmina Govindji Apr 2012

11. #RDUK – twitter forum
How?
•Moderated 1-hour; 20.00 BST
•Polite, respectful, professional
•Topical issues
•Promoted by 3 of us & BDA
•5 Questions, 10 minutes each (Q1 #RDUK, Q2
#RDUK, etc)
•Anyone can answer (A1 #RDUK, A2 #RDUK)
•Archive chat (storify / our sites)
•Promote next month
© Azmina Govindji Apr 2012

12. © Azmina Govindji Apr 2012

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15. © Azmina Govindji Apr 2012

16. Data so far….
• 6 months 6 chats
• The Reach (dietitians + ‘observers’): RDUK tweets from just
one moderator were RTd to 19,020 followers last chat!
• Average @mentions: 20-30 per moderator
• Average new followers: 15-30 per moderator
• Archive seen by 52 people in the day after RDUK chat (Visitors
from US, Canada, Spain, Germany, Australia, South Africa)
What’s next?
• Chat topics: weaning, carbs, myths
• Get more nutritionists chatting
• Attract the public?
© Azmina Govindji Apr 2012

17. Keep it professional
• Personal vs professional – you’re always ‘at work’
• FB – two areas: personal & business
• Digital footprint - everything is ‘out there’ forever;
misrepresentation
• Self-audit
© Azmina Govindji Apr 2012

18. Even NHS Choices are doing it!
© Azmina Govindji Apr 2012

19. Top Tips from BDA
BDA recently published guidance:
•Don’t identify your place of work unless you have
approval
•Act responsibly at all times, uphold reputation of
the profession
•Don’t post informal or derogatory comments
about your colleagues, work, place of study etc..
•Do not discuss confidential work-related material
© Azmina Govindji Apr 2012

20. Top Tips from BDA
• Protect your privacy! Think about what
information you are sharing & with whom
remember it’s the www
• If disagreeing with others keep replies polite
& inoffensive, even when provoked
• Once it’s out there remember it can be RT’d,
quoted, plagiarised & redistributed!
• If you wouldn’t want your post displayed on a
billboard outside your work don’t post it!
© Azmina Govindji Apr 2012

21. What others think
© Azmina Govindji Apr 2012

22. What I’ve learnt…
© Azmina Govindji Apr 2012

23. What I’ve learnt…
© Azmina Govindji Apr 2012

24. What I’ve learnt…
© Azmina Govindji Apr 2012

25. What I’ve learnt…
© Azmina Govindji Apr 2012