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INTRODUCTION: Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a widely accepted diagnostic technique, but performance varies according to expertise. Little is known about variation in FNAC training practices worldwide. We surveyed pathologists using social media networks to determine FNAC training practices internationally. DESIGN: Pathologists were surveyed on questions related to FNAC simulation training using direct messaging on the Twitter and WhatsApp platforms. Survey responses over a period of 2 weeks were collected. RESULTS: In total, 149 pathologists participated (96.1% response rate). The respondents came from 24 countries and 87 institutions. The majority of the pathologists (63.8%) performed FNAC directly on patients for the first time. Only 36.2% of them had simulation instruction during their training. It was performed on food items such as fruit (64.8%), surgical specimens (37.0%), autopsies (13.0%) and others (9.3%), including commercially available phantom simulators for ultrasound-guided FNAC (US-FNAC) (two pathologists). DISCUSSION: Most pathologists did not receive formal training in a simulated environment, and of the pathologists who had simulation instruction, food items were commonly used for education. A few participants used a commercial US-FNAC simulator, but since most pathologists perform FNAC by palpation, this method of simulation training is not applicable to many practices. Social media is an effective and efficient way to perform survey research, yielding a very high response rate.
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INTRODUCTION: Pathology is a speciality that is often poorly understood, not only by the general public, but also by clinicians. However, the recent widespread use of social media provides an opportunity to increase the visibility and comprehension of our profession. A working group was formed to carry out this task. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The members of the Spanish Society of Pathology were contacted through its Communication and Social Projection Subcommittee to engage in the campaign #IWantYouForSEAP, to form a network on Twitter. The recruitment period was one month (August, 2016). The resulting project, developed during the XXVIII Congress of the SEAP-IAP, was registered using the analytical tools Symplur and Tweet Binder. RESULTS: 32 applications (29 pathologists, 2 histotechnicians, 1 administrative personnel) were received from all over Spain, including participants from 14 of the 17 Autonomous Regions, from 22 cities and 25 medical centres. The activity in relation to the hashtag #SEAP2017V used in the congress included 685 participants with 6704 tweets and 8,837,435 impressions. 28 of the 32 recruited by the #IWantYouForSEAP campaign participated, contributing with 2410 tweets, and generating 2,090,423 impressions (36% and 24% of the total, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: It is possible to promote and motivate teamwork within our discipline through social media networks. This preliminary experience of the use of social media networks in our scientific community has had encouraging results which have raised high expectations among participants. An appropriate use of social media networks could help to narrow the gap between pathologists and society.