MENTOR OF THE MONTH

Dr. Susan Dent, M.D. FRCP(C)

Why is Dr. Dent the Successful Mentor of the Month for April?

Dr. Susan Dent is a Medical Oncologist at The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre and Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Ottawa. She obtained her MD at McMaster University and completed her postgraduate training in Internal Medicine at the University of Ottawa. She continued her training in Medical Oncology in Ottawa, followed by a fellowship year in Clinical Research with the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group. Presently, Dr. Dent is Vice Chair of the Patient Quality & Safety Committee, a member of the Cancer Care Ontario Breast Disease Site Group Practice Guidelines Committee, IND working group for the Breast Cancer Disease Site Committee of the National Cancer Institute for Canada Clinical Trials Group, Grant Review Panel for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, and the Canadian Institute of Health Research. She is the founder of the Canadian Cardiac Oncology Network, an organization dedicated to improving our understanding of how cancer treatments impact cardiovascular health with the ultimate goal of preventing cardiotoxicity. Her areas of interest include breast cancer, treatment toxicities and cardiotoxicity.

Dr. Dent was nominated as the mentor of the month by Dr. Christine Simmons, and Dr. Christine Brezden-Masley, staff at the BC Cancer Agency and St. Michael's Hospital respectively.

"Susan has been a fantastic supporter and mentor over the years. I had the opportunity to attend a mentorship workshop that she had organized early on in my career, and it was during that workshop that the idea to start Women in Cancer came about".
Says Dr. Christine Simmons.

"Through Susan's support and encouragement I have continued pursuing research in the field of cardio-oncology and continue to connect with experts in this field via the Canadian Cardio-Oncology Network which I am proud to co-chair with Susan."
Says Dr. Christine Brezden-Masley.

Both agree that it is so important to have mentors not only at your institution but at other institutions as well. "The added perspective distance provides is invaluable and we thank Susan for being such a great supporter!"

Nominate a Mentor, Mention an Accomplishment for Next Month!

WinC provides a platform to increase visibility of great mentors on an international level. If you have someone in mind that has been an important mentor to you or people you know OR you have reached a new accomplishment, please email Yanci Rajmohan at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

UPCOMING EVENTS

• 11-Apr-2013 to 13-Apr-2013
  IGCS Regional Meeting on Gynecologic Cancers
  Bali, Indonesia
• 13-Apr-2013 to 16-Apr-2013
  66th USANZ Annual Scientific Meeting
  Melbourne, Australia
• 18-Apr-2013 to 20-Apr-2013
  3rd ITLT Essen 2013 Interdisciplinary Treatment of Liver Tumors
  Essen, Germany
• 24-Apr-2013
  CAMO Evening Symposium
  Delta Chelsea Hotel, Toronto, ON
• 25-Apr-2013 to 26-Apr-2013
  CAMO Annual Scientific Meeting
  Delta Chelsea Hotel, Toronto, ON
• 25-Apr-2013
  WinC Annual General Meeting
  ORO Restaurant, Toronto, ON

WinC NEWS

The 2013 WinC Annual General Meeting will be held in Toronto, Ontario at the ORO Restaurant on April 25th, 2013. Come meet your online WinC community in person, collaborate and network with notable leaders in the Oncology field, and learn about leadership from the experiences of keynote speaker Senator Pamela Wallin.

Have you been selected to attend the Flims 15 Methods in Clinical Cancer Research Workshop being held in Switzerland from June 22–28th? WinC is pleased to announce that it will be offering a travel grant to one participant. Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information if you are interested.

ARTICLE RECOMMENDATION

Understanding the Factors That Influence the Adoption and Meaningful Use of Social Media by Physicians to Share Medical Information

Published online 2012 September 24
Doi: 10.2196/jmir.2138

By: Brian S McGowan et al.

Background

Within the medical community there is persistent debate as to whether the information available through social media is trustworthy and valid, and whether physicians are ready to adopt these technologies and ultimately embrace them as a format for professional development and lifelong learning.

Objective

To identify how physicians are using social media to share and exchange medical information with other physicians, and to identify the factors that influence physicians’ use of social media as a component of their lifelong learning and continuing professional development.

Methods

We developed a survey instrument based on the Technology Acceptance Model, hypothesizing that technology usage is best predicted by a physician’s attitudes toward the technology, perceptions about the technology’s usefulness and ease of use, and individual factors such as personal innovativeness. The survey was distributed via email to a random sample of 1695 practicing oncologists and primary care physicians in the United States in March 2011. Responses from 485 physicians were analyzed (response rate 28.61%).

Results

Overall, 117 of 485 (24.1%) of respondents used social media daily or many times daily to scan or explore medical information, whereas 69 of 485 (14.2%) contributed new information via social media on a daily basis. On a weekly basis or more, 296 of 485 (61.0%) scanned and 223 of 485 (46.0%) contributed. In terms of attitudes toward the use of social media, 279 of 485 respondents (57.5%) perceived social media to be beneficial, engaging, and a good way to get current, high-quality information. In terms of usefulness, 281 of 485 (57.9%) of respondents stated that social media enabled them to care for patients more effectively, and 291 of 485 (60.0%) stated it improved the quality of patient care they delivered. The main factors influencing a physician’s usage of social media to share medical knowledge with other physicians were perceived ease of use and usefulness. Respondents who had positive attitudes toward the use of social media were more likely to use social media and to share medical information with other physicians through social media. Neither age nor gender had a significant impact on adoption or usage of social media.

Conclusions

Based on the results of this study, the use of social media applications may be seen as an efficient and effective method for physicians to keep up-to-date and to share newly acquired medical knowledge with other physicians within the medical community and to improve the quality of patient care. Future studies are needed to examine the impact of the meaningful use of social media on physicians’ knowledge, attitudes, skills, and behaviors in practice.

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