ePlatforms – social media and digital tools in my daily work

In my experience social media and digital platforms are often seen as something people use in their free time, but in my everyday work they are also very practical work tools. In healthcare the work itself is hands-on, but almost everything around it is digital nowadays. Communication, documentation, training, planning and cooperation across organizations all rely on different platforms.

My current work and the digital tools I already use

I work as a dental hygienist, and a part of my current role is preventive oral health care through video appointments. Instead of meeting patients in a clinic, I support families remotely by doing oral health assessments and giving guidance and counselling online. I also do coordination and development tasks in oral healthcare, especially related to services for older adults/elderly. My work includes patient care, staff guidance, and developing cooperation models between oral healthcare and elderly services. In other words, my days combine client work and development tasks behind the scenes.


Digital tools are part of almost everything I do. In my day-to-day work, I rely on a secure video connection for appointments, electronic patient records for documentation, and digital materials to support counselling and guidance. In development work, I use communication platforms, presentation tools and shared documents. When we plan new care pathways or create training material, digital collaboration tools make it easier to work with people who are not in the same place.

Even though I already use many digital tools, I still feel that the biggest challenge is having too many channels, too many notifications, and the risk that important information disappears in the noise. For me, a new platform needs a clear purpose and it should genuinely make daily work smoother, not just add one more place to check.

Five new tools and how I could use them in my work

1) DeepL: supporting multilingual communication

In my work, clear communication matters a lot, especially if language creates extra uncertainty. DeepL could be useful in situations where a patient or family member needs written guidance in another language.

I could use DeepL to draft translations of patient instructions, short guidance texts for caregivers, or training notes when working in a multilingual environment. It could make the information more accessible, especially for people who feel unsure reading important instructions in Finnish or in English. However, I would use it carefully, because automatic translation is not always accurate with medical terminology and even small mistakes could become a safety issue. In healthcare, translated content should always be reviewed by a professional and adapted to real-life language that patients actually understand.

2) Doodle: making scheduling easier

Scheduling sounds like a small issue, but in development work it can become a surprisingly big one. When you try to organize a meeting with people from different units, finding a time that works for everyone can feel like a project of its own.

Doodle could help with staff training sessions, development meetings and workshops, especially when participants do not share the same calendar system. Instead of long email chains, people can simply choose suitable times and we can see the result quickly.

3) LinkedIn: networking and learning from others

I don’t currently have a LinkedIn profile, and honestly I have always thought of LinkedIn mainly as a place for networking and finding a new job. In a way, that is true. But while exploring digital platforms for this assignment, I realized it could also be useful even if I’m not actively looking for a new position.

For me, the value would not be “branding myself”, but following what others are developing and what might be useful in my own context. Following the right people and topics could be an easy way to see what others are working on, what kinds of projects are happening in Finland and internationally, and what ideas might be worth adapting to my own work context.

4) Canva: making guidance materials

In my work, guidance materials and training content matter a lot. In elderly oral healthcare, it is not enough to tell people what to do. Instructions need to be simple, visual and easy to follow. In healthcare, people do not always read long instructions, so how something looks can affect whether it gets used at all.

Canva is a tool for creating visual materials, and I could use it for patient instructions, staff training slides, posters for care units, and short information materials for caregivers. Even small visual improvements can make content more approachable. If a guidance sheet looks clear and friendly, people are more likely to read it and remember it.

5) YouTube: video-based learning for practical skills

YouTube is widely used as a learning platform, and video is often the best way to show practical techniques. In oral healthcare, many topics are easier to demonstrate than to explain in text. This could be useful when the same practical guidance needs to be repeated in different units or for different caregivers.

In my work, YouTube could support short training videos for staff, demonstration videos for daily oral care in elderly services, and educational content for caregivers and family members. A video can show the steps calmly and clearly, which can reduce uncertainty and improve consistency.

Positive and negative sides of social media and digital platforms

Digital platforms support collaboration across locations, make training more flexible, and help share information quickly. In development work, they make it possible to involve people who otherwise could not participate. However multiple platforms can increase workload and create fragmented communication. In healthcare, data security and confidentiality are also major concerns. Not every platform is appropriate for work communication, and personal and professional boundaries can become blurred if people use the same tools in both contexts.

Another challenge is variation in digital competence and motivation. Not everyone enjoys learning new tools, and some people may feel left behind. A platform that feels simple to one person can feel stressful to another. That difference matters when we want digital solutions to support teamwork instead of creating more tension. I also think one common problem is that information becomes scattered. The more platforms there are, the easier it is for something important to disappear between channels.

What makes digital tools successful in real working life?

In my experience, a digital tool is only useful if it solves a real problem in everyday work. The goal is not to introduce a new platform just because it exists, but to create smoother work, clearer communication and better service for patients or colleagues.

In my opinion successful use usually requires:

  • a clear purpose (why we use it)
  • user-friendly design (it should not feel like extra work)
  • training and support (people need time to learn)
  • strong data protection (especially in healthcare)
  • and realistic integration with existing systems and routines

Self reflection

This assignment did not introduce completely new ideas to me, because digital tools are already part of my work and studies. Still, it was useful to go through these platforms and think more realistically about what I would actually use and what would probably just become one more extra channel.

The most useful part was comparing tools from the viewpoint of real work. A platform may look helpful, but if it does not save time, reduce confusion or support communication, it will not be used for long. That is probably the most important thing I took from this task.