Healthcare is a constantly evolving landscape that requires health policy to guide day to day proceedings. Creating and analyzing policy requires knowledge synthesis stemming from well-researched topics. Promoting improvements and changes in health policy requires the ability to disseminate information to peers, clients, patients, and the general public. Throughout this course, I have been introduced to the concept of content curation; I have explored various research methods and databases; and I have developed an information storage system. I have also broadened my understanding of a professional online presence, creating professional portfolio online, as well as refining my presence on social media. These skills have incredibly useful applications in the field of health policy, and I will certainly be transferring them into my future career.
Content Curation
The ability to determine which resources are relevant and reliable is an undeniable asset in academia and in careers that require research of any kind. Content curation and the proper dissemination of information have become increasingly important tasks since the rise of the Internet and the resulting excess of information about any given topic (Artal-Sevil & Romero 2018). I have always been heavily reliant on online databases for research purposes, considering that I began secondary school in 2015. Since my first research project in the ninth grade, I had been curating content, I just didn’t know it yet.
This first course of my post-secondary education formally introduced me to the concept of content curation, and I have refined my abilities throughout. I have always been familiar with researching using various databases such as Google Scholar, CINAHL, and PubMed, however, this course has taught me to be more critical about the formulation of my searches and the resulting articles I choose to gather. As previously discussed, it is incredibly easy to become overwhelmed with information with the current state of the Internet. New information is uploaded every single day, and it is not necessarily reliable, which is why the critical evaluation of resources is the quintessential value of content curation.
Aside from the collection of information and resources, a secondary component of content curation is the storage of information. Prior to my formal introduction to curating content, I had simply been saving my resources onto my hard drive or within Microsoft Word documents. This course has taught me that while these are valid methods, there is a wide variety of more efficient ones that could be applied to my work. I was introduced to Zotero and explored the platform as a potential resource database, but it did not resonate with me. I then looked into saving my documents on Google Docs, and this method has been incredibly reliable for me. I enjoy the fact that the documents save on the cloud; they will always be accessible and cannot be lost. I thoroughly believe that I have gained an essential skill throughout this course, and I will continue to develop and apply my abilities within my work.
Social Media
In modern day society, almost every individual has some sort of online persona. Having grown up online, I have always had a presence on social media. The concept that the Internet lives on forever has been engrained into my conscience since I was a child, which is why I have always been careful not to upload offensive or inappropriate posts. My social media accounts have always pertained to my personal life, but I do understand the value in creating a professional online presence. Prior to this course, I was more lenient about my online presence, but my accounts are now more anonymized and private since they do not pertain to my work. I have begun curating my online portfolio throughout this course; highlighting my academic and professional achievements, my resume, creating a professional blog, storing my curated resources, and presenting my colleagues. I plan to continue updating my ePortfolio throughout my career. As of now, my social media accounts remain personal, but I will certainly develop a more professional presence as I begin my career in Health Policy.
Applications to Health Policy
Health policy is a practice that is heavily reliant on research, therefore the abilities to properly curate resources and disseminate information are essential to the job. Since October of 2023, I have been working on a research project with Health Sciences North, a hospital in Sudbury, Ontario. We have used Zotero and an online software, Covidence, to curate information and to perform a literature review. Without this course, the use of these platforms would have been completely new to me. To be able to apply knowledge from this course to my work, essentially in parallel to each other, was an incredibly gratifying experience.
A secondary aspect of health policy is information dissemination. These days, the easiest way to reach the most people is through social media. Creating a professional online presence can therefore act as a vehicle for information dissemination. I have yet to commence my career in this field, however, I am already preparing to launch a professional Instagram account in order to fulfill this important role.
Conclusion
Throughout the first course of my post graduate studies, I have developed an essential skillset in regard to content curation in the areas of scientific research and social media presence. The ability to perform a critical analysis of research, using relevant data as fuel to make necessary improvements to the healthcare system, is imperative to my future career in health policy. I must also disseminate information surrounding health policy, and throughout this course I have learned that a professional social media presence would be the most effective method in doing so. These skills will remain useful tools to my work, and I will continuously develop them as I progress in my career. I have already been able to apply knowledge from this course to my work, and I know that I will continue to do so throughout my career.
References
Alsobayel, H. (2016). Use of Social Media for Professional Development by Health Care Professionals: A Cross-Sectional Web-Based Survey. JMIR Med Educ. 2(2). doi:10.2196/mededu.6232
Artal-Sevil, J. S., & Romero, E. (2018). Content Curation: What is it? How to apply this technique in higher education? Resources and Tools Available. ICERI 2018 Proceedings. 10.21125/iceri.2018.2227
Hootsuite. (2023). Social Media Curation [Image]. https://blog.hootsuite.com/beginners-guide-to-content-curation/
Wix. (2023). On A Computer [Image]. https://www.wix.com
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