PubMed Meets Canva: The Sweet-Spot of Effective Science Communication
All the research in the world is useless unless it is communicated in a meaningful way.
Scientists are often critiqued for their inability to communicate their work to the average person.
This is a reality. I have worked with a lot of brilliant scientists that cannot bring their high-level knowledge down to earth.
The general public is often accused of being too easily swayed by misinformation.
To be fair, how are they supposed to weed through the conflicting information about controversial topics when most don’t even understand the basic biology of their body (like the fact that your stomach is not by your belly button, but right under your rib cage)?!
Why the disconnect between scientists and the general public? What is the solution?
We need effective educators that can comprehend and translate science to the average person in a way that is accurate, nuanced, clear, and actionable.
(And let’s just start farming on the moon while we’re at it.)
This need for effective science communication is easier said than done.
The first aspect of effective science communication is a solid understanding of the current literature (ie, you frequent PubMed). There are also many reputable experts on the blogosphere that have already done the first level of condensing the research (just make sure you read skeptically and check their references).
The second aspect is sharing that information in a way that is accurate, actionable, and aesthetic. Yes, AESTHETIC. While formally trained as a scientist, I am an artist + educator at heart. At the end of the day, presentation is everything. Our brains are wired to remember content that is visually appealing, graphic, colorful, and chunked into short-and-sweet snippets. This is where Canva is key.
Effective science communication is in the sweet-spot between these two extremely different disciplines.
Talk about the mental whiplash of switching from left-brained research to right-brained graphic design (I would know, this is what I do all-day, everyday).
But I do it so you don’t have to.
Each template from Made Whole Nutrition has been carefully researched, cited, and crafted so you don’t have to spend the time or energy making those mental transitions.
Instead, you can focus on what you do best in your practice, while also providing your patients with accurate, actionable, and aesthetic resources that are right in the sweet-spot of effective science communication.