2016 Book and Documentary Recommendations

Paul SufkaBooks, Hobbies

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Painting: Renoir, Pierre-Auguste. (1880-1). Luncheon of the Boating Party, Washington DC: The Phillips Collection.

“I cannot remember the books I’ve read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

I initially set myself the goal of reading one book per week for 2016, and although a pair of books I’ll mention below kept me from reaching my goal, I was able to read (and thanks to Audible, listen to) a ton of great books this year. (Follow what I’m reading on Goodreads). Below are the best five books (and one documentary) that I came across this year.

Fiction

I’m not typically a big fan of fiction, so I only have one suggestion here. I heard Chris Sacca recommend How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid on two separate occasions, so I had to check it out. For this one, I listened to the Audible version, since it was narrated by the author. This is a novel written in the style of a self-help book, giving a dark, first-person account of a nameless poor boy who becomes a wealthy tycoon.  

Non-fiction: History and the Future

  • Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari followed by Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies by Nick Bostrom. These are the two long, dense books that kept me from my goal of a book per week, but it was completely worth it. Sapiens (464 pages) gives an overview of human history through the perspective of four different revolutions: cognitive, agricultural, and scientific, and will improve your understanding of how Homo sapiens have been able to survive, thrive and conquer. Superintelligence (390 pages) takes a look at the current state of artificial intelligence, how a superintelligenece will eventually form (it’s inevitable), and ideas on how we should develop these systems to maintain control.

Non-fiction: Personal Development

  • Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin and Ego Is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday.  In the author’s own words, Extreme Ownership: “explains the SEAL leadership concepts crucial to accomplishing the most difficult missions in combat and how to apply them to any group, team, or organization.” I suggest pairing this book with Ego Is the Enemy, which uses underpinnings in stoic philosophy and well selected stories to teach the reader to: “Forget yourself and focus on the work. Be humble and persistent. Value discipline and results, not passion and confidence. Be lesser, do more” (from Derek Sivers editorial review). 

Documentaries 

somm-img

Somm (available on Netflix and iTunes) follows four people trying to pass the Master Sommelier Diploma, a title currently only earned by 233 people in the world. Beyond the wine knowledge displayed in this movie, this documentary is also a look at what it takes to become the best of the best in a field, and resembles Jiro Dreams of Sushi in the depth of mastery displayed. 

Three Steps to Keep Up With Twitter at a Major Medical Meeting

Paul SufkaConferences, Education, Med Tech, Social Media

Washington Monument Reflecting pool
Image by AaronMosh7 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons.

“Consider getting smaller in order to get bigger.” — Sir Richard Branson

Many people feel a bit of overwhelm at the idea of using social media during a medical meeting. These same people are recognizing the many benefits of using social media: connecting with others, actively learning, and promoting their work.

(This post is going to focus on using Twitter efficiently, but if you’re interested in digging deeper into what you can do, take a look at my talk from the 2016 ACR Program Directors’ Conference: Using Twitter in Medical Education and links to prior social media summaries from ACR 2014 and ACR 2015.)

Using Twitter during the meeting doesn’t have to be difficult or significantly time consuming.

If you’re completely new to Twitter, read these first: Mom This is How Twitter Works and #RheumJC: Intro to Twitter first.

Once you’re comfortable with the basic terminology of Twitter, these are my three suggestions:

  1. Follow everyone tweeting at the meeting. The easiest way to do this is to find a meeting list on Twitter. For #ACR16, I suggest following everyone on the #ACR16 Twitter list curated by the official @ACRheum account.
  2. Create or subscribe to a curated X List for the meeting and use the meeting hashtag’s Top and Latest views to catch up on highlights. Bookmark high-value posts for later review.
  3. If you’re using a laptop at the meeting, try using tchat.io on your web browser to more efficiently follow and participate in the #ACR16 hashtag in real-time. Bonus: tchat.io will automatically include the hashtag in your tweets so that you’re included in the conversation.

What I’m Looking Forward to at #ACR16

Paul SufkaConferences, Education, Med Tech, Social Media

acr16-laptop

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” — Benjamin Franklin

The ACR Annual Meeting (#ACR16) is such a huge event that it’s worth your time to spend an hour or two planning your time at the meeting. (I highly suggest Dr. Philip Gardiner’s post: How to make the most of a medical conference….)

I continue to follow my approach to Optimizing Your Meeting Experiences, inspired by Seth Godin’s blog post on conference planning where he suggests going to a conference in search of “engaged conversations.”

At this point, I generally attend sessions that I want to talk to the speaker afterwards, and make note of other sessions that I want to watch later online through SessionSelect.

Besides this, I suggest scheduling some time every day to exercise during the meeting. Really: put it in your calendar. (Alternatively: schedule a caffeine nap.)

Here’s my tentative #ACR16 session schedule:

#ACR16 Tweetup – Washington D.C.

Paul SufkaAnnouncements, Conferences, Education, Social Media

twitter-tweet-up-final

“Social media is not a fad because it’s human.” — Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee)

#ACR16 Tweetup

  • When: Sunday, November 13 from 4:30–6:00 PM
  • Where: West Overlook – 2nd Floor – Walter E. Washington Convention Center
  • Who: Everyone!
  • Official session overview: The tweet up is an informal event without an agenda organized by ACR members. It is an opportunity for members who engage on Twitter to meet face-to-face. All annual meeting attendees are welcome to participate. The tweet up is designed to facilitate personal connections within the international rheumatology community.

Twitter continues to be the gold standard social media tool for physician lifelong learning, which I’ve spoken about earlier this year at the 2016 ACR Program Directors’ Conference: Using Twitter in Medical Education.

The use of social media in medicine has continued to mature. Major medical meetings now have social media as a centerpiece for discussion, indexed on Symplur’s Healthcare Hashtag Project. Online journal clubs have organized, such as our very own #RheumJC, holding monthly sessions with participation of authors to directly answer questions about their articles.

(Shameless plug: come check out our poster #1145 on Monday, November 14, 2016 in the poster hall: #Rheumjc: Impact of Invited Authors on a Twitter Based Rheumatology Journal Club.)

From a recent blog post by Symplur:

There is a growing interest in documenting the use of Twitter at medical meetings. “Tweeting the meeting” has many benefits, including enhancing the educational experience of meeting attendees, disseminating content to those not in attendance (physicians, patients, general public and the media), and increasing the visibility of the medical organization. While still seen by many as frivolous, an increasing number of physicians and organizations understand the real value that comes from an active social media presence during conferences.

A great primer for rheumatologists new to Twitter was presented at the ACR 2014 Social Media Bootcamp:

Looking forward to seeing everyone again at the Tweetup!

Using Twitter in Medical Education – 2016 ACR Program Directors’ Conference – Chicago, IL

Paul SufkaUncategorized

Signing up for Twitter
– Browser: twitter.com/signup
– Mobile: twitter.com/download

Resources for getting started with Twitter
– RheumJC’s guide: rheumjc.com/getting-started
– Mom This is How Twitter Works: www.momthisishowtwitterworks.com

Lists of rheumatologists on Twitter
– My list
– List by @ACRheum

Why educators should be on Twitter
– International Clinician Educators Network Blog: Personal learning networks: A hack to maintain competence
– Life in the Fast Lane: FOAM/FOAMed
– The Wall Street Journal: Why the Dean of Harvard Medical School Tweets

Healthcare Hashtags
– Symplur: Healthcare Hashtag Project
– Symplur blog: Applying the Power of Twitter to Medical Journal Clubs

Adult learning
– Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching: Flipped classroom model
– Wikipedia: Bloom’s modified learning taxonomy
– Related: Lifelong Learning and Teaching in Medicine

Papers about online journal clubs
– Journal of Medical Internet Research:
– Globalization of Continuing Professional Development by Journal Clubs via Microblogging: A Systematic Review
– Twitter-Based Journal Clubs: Additional Facts and Clarifications
– Response to “Twitter-Based Journal Clubs: Some Additional Facts and Clarifications”
– International Review of Psychiatry: Social media, medicine and the modern journal club

RheumJC
– RheumJC.com
– Twitter chat client: tchat.io