The Nephrology Social Media Collective (NSMC) internship was established in 2015.

The goal of the NSMC internship is to cultivate leaders in medicine by instilling confidence, knowledge, competence, and professionalism in the use of social media.

Three classes have completed the 1-year curriculum. Applications are open for the class of 2018.

Why should I apply for NSMC internship?
The NSMC internship will teach you how to use social media effectively and responsibly. Our faculty is comprised of educators, clinicians, and researchers who provide one on one mentorship, guidance, and education. We have devised a curriculum which is updated every year in response to suggestions from the interns and faculty. The internship focuses on learning and demonstrating professionalism in the use of social networks. Our graduates have been successful in being placed in leadership positions in various local, national, and international organizations. The internship will help you achieve expertise and confidence in the use of social media; and provide you with opportunities to foster your career growth.

Who is eligible to apply for NSMC internship?
Any health care professional can apply for NSMC internship. Our projects and curriculum are focused around nephrology and have the most success with nephrology attendings and fellows. However, past classes have included a medical student, residents, a practicing pulmonologist, a nurse, and a PhD student.

How do I apply for NSMC Internship?
Applicants are required to write a personal statement describing why they want to join internship, prior social medial experience (if any), and how this internship would foster their career. We are accepting applications until January 1, 2018. Accepted candidates will be announced in January. Click here to apply!

How is the curriculum designed for  NSMC internship?
Interns are expected to participate in 4 mandatory projects (NephJC, NephMadness, Renal Fellow Network Blog, and Internet Publishing), in addition to didactic conferences as detailed in the curriculum. The complete teaching curriculum is available here.

• NephMadness. This is in collaboration with the AJKDBlog. Interns will start off the year learning to produce visual abstracts, blog posts, online quizzes, or video to help support NephMadness.
• NephJC. NephJC is the online nephrology journal club held bimonthly on Twitter. Interns are expected to regularly participate in #NephJC chats. In addition, they are required to do a project related to NephJC: write a summary, do the curation after the chat, and host a chat.
• Renal Fellow Network. Interns will write a blog post of their choice for the blog.
• Internet Publishing. Interns will learn how to use Medium, WordPress, and SquareSpace. This would help them design a personal/institutional website/blog and create an online CV.
• Didactic Sessions. Interns are expected to attend online lectures focussing on nephrology social media, professionalism in use of social media, and using social media for academic advancement (2-3/year).

How much time I am expected to devote for NSMC internship?
The duration of NSMC internship is one year. Interns are expected to devote 3-4 hours/month for NSMC internship-related activities.

How is the mentorship for NSMC structured?
Each intern will be paired with two mentors during the course of internship. Each intern select their mentors depending on their area of interest and availability of mentor (e.g. sometimes with respect to time zone).

What is the medium of communication during NSMC Internship?
Interns can participate in the program from anywhere with internet access. If selected, they are required to set up a Twitter account as that is our main medium of communication. We have a private Twitter channel, where interns will be invited into a direct message group with the faculty. Most of the communication, learning, and mentoring occur in this channel. We will have an entrance discussion with each intern to discuss the specific goals and expectations.

How are interns assessed during the NSMC Internship?
Assessment is based on regular attendance of NephJC, as well as the quality and timely completion of projects. It’s important to realize that the visibility in social media may help the intern get additional projects and opportunities. In addition, we have developed a pre-/post-NSMC survey to assess their goals and receive feedback.

Here is our oral presentation on the NSMC Internship Experience at Kidney Week 2017: 

Have more questions?
Email us: Captopril@NephJC.com or Tweet us: @Kidney_Boy

– Post prepared by Joel Topf (@kidney_boy), NSMC Internship Program Director, and  Silvi Shah (@silvishah), Associate Program Director, on behalf of the NSMC Faculty