Social Media Etiquette for the Modern Medical Student:A Narrative Review

Authors

  • Brittany Harrison Medical Student, University of Ottawa, Canada.
  • Jeewanjit Gill Medical Student, University of Ottawa, Canada.
  • Alireza Jalali Distinguished professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Canada.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/ijms.2014.86

Keywords:

ocial media, Medical Students, Internship and Residency, Medical Education, Continuing Medical Education

Abstract

Most medical students worldwide are using some form of social media platform to supplement their learning via file sharing and to stay up-to-date on medical events. Often, social media may blur the line between socialization and educational use, so it is important to be aware of how one is utilizing social media and how to remain professional. Research has yielded some troublesome themes of misconduct: drunken behaviour, violations of confidentiality and defamation of institutions. Because there is no universal policy to monitor online professionalism, there exists the potential for indiscretions to occur. It has been reported that misdemeanours can affect future residency placements and employment for medical students. Accordingly, studies suggest that educators need to recognize this new era of professionalism and adapt policies and reprimands to meet modern outlets where professionalism may be violated.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

Author Biography

Brittany Harrison, Medical Student, University of Ottawa, Canada.

About the author: Brittany Harrison is in her third year of medical school at the University of Ottawa, Canada. She recently presented at the Canadian Conference for Medical Education on the topic of social media professionalism

References

1. Garner J, O’Sullivan H. Facebook and the professional behaviours of under¬graduate medical students. Clin Teach. 2010 Jun;7(2):112–5.
2. Kind T, Genrich G, Sodhi A, Chretien K. Social media policies at US medical schools. Med Educ Online. 2010 Sep 15;15.
3. Mansfield S, Morrion S, Stephens H, Bonning M, Wang S, Withers J. Social media and the medical profession. Med J Australia. 2011 Jun 20;194(12):642–4.
4. Chretien K, Kind T. Social media and clinical care: Ethical, professional and social implications. Circulation. 2013 Apr 2;127(13):1413–21.
5. Kaczmarczyk JM, Chuang A, Dugoff L, Abbott JF, Cullimore AJ, Dalrymple J, et al. e-Professionalism: A new frontier in medical education. Teach Learn Med. 2013;25(2):165–70.
6. Ross S, Lai K, Walton JM, Kirwan P, White JS. “I have the right to a private life”: Medical students’ views about professionalism in a digital world. Med Teach. 2013 Oct; 35(10);826-31.
7. Liberati A, Altman DG, Tetzlaff J, Mulrow C, Gøtzsche PC, Loannidis JP, et al. The PRISMA statement for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses of studies that evaluate health care interventions: explanation and elaboration. PLoS Med. 2009 Jul 21;6(7).
8. Boulos M, Wheeler S. The emerging Web 2.0 social software: An enabling suite of sociable technologies in health and health care education. Health Info Libr J. 2007 Mar;24(1):2-23.
9. Hollinderbaumer A, Hartz T, Uckert F. Education 2.0—how have social media and web 2.0 been integrated into medical education? A systematical review. GMS Z Med Ausbild. 2013;30(1):Doc14.
10. Belean G, Truong J. Social media and medical students. Med Stud J Aust. 2011 Jun;3(1):21–3.
11. Lie D, Trial J, Schaff P, Wallace R, Elliot D. “Being the best we can be”: Medical students’ reflections on physician responsibility in the social media era. Acad Med. 2013 Feb;88(2):240–5.
12. Thompson L, Dawson K, Ferdig R, Black EW, Boyer J, Coutts J, et al. The intersection of online social networking with medical professionalism. J Gen Intern Med. 2008 Dec;23(12):954–7.
13. Kennedy G, Gray K, Tse J. “Net Generation” medical students: Techno¬logical experiences of pre-clinical and clinical students. Med Teach. 2008 Feb;30(1):10–6.
14. Australian Medical Association Council of Doctors-in-Training, New Zealand Medical Association Doctors-in-Training Council, New Zealand Me¬dical Students’ Association, Australian Medical Students’ Association. Social Media and the Medical Profession: A guide to online professionalism for medical practitioners and medical students. Australian Medical Association and New Zealand Medical Association. 2014;1-14
15. Chretien K, Greysen SR, Chretien JP, Kind T. Online posting of unprofessio¬nal content by medical students. JAMA. 2009 Sep 23;302(12):1309–15.
16. Greysen R, Kind T, Chretien KC. Online professionalism and the mirror of social media. J Gen Intern Med. 2010 Nov;25(11):1227–9.
17. Patel P, Roberts JL, Miller K, Ziegler C, Ostapchuck M. The responsible use of online social networking: who should mentor medical students. Teach Learn Med. 2012;24(4):348-54.
18. Ponce B, Determann JR, Boohaker HA, Sheppard E, McGwin G, Theiss S. So¬cial networking profiles and professionalism issues in residency applicants: An original study-cohort study. J Surg Edu. 2013 Jul-Aug;70(4):502–7.
19. Spector N, Matz PS, Levine LJ, Gargiulo KA, McDonald MB, McGregor RS. e-Professionalism: Challenges in the age of information. J Pediatr. 2010 Mar;156(3):345–46.
20. Brasg I. Canadian Federation of Medical Students: CFMS Guide to Medi¬cal Professionalism: Recommendations for Social Media. Executive Summary. 2013;1-31.
21. Jain S. Practicing medicine in the age of Facebook. New Engl J Med. 2009 Aug 13;361(7):649–51.
22. Cheston C, Flickinger T, Chisolm M. Social media use in medical educa¬
tion: A systematic review. Acad Med. 2013 Jun;88(6):1–9.
23. MacDonald J, Sohn S, Ellis P. Privacy, professionalism and Facebook: a dilemma for young doctors. Med Educ. 2010 Aug;44(8):805–13.
24. Strausburg M, Djuricich A, Carlos G, Bosslet G. The influence of the resi¬dency application process on the online social networking behaviour of me¬dical students: A single institutional study. Acad Med. 2013 Nov;88(11):1707- 1712.
25. Gray K, Annabell L, Kennedy G. Medical students’ use of Facebook to su¬pport learning: Insights from four case studies. Med Teach. 2010;32(1), 971–6.

Downloads

Published

2014-12-24

How to Cite

Harrison, B., Gill, J., & Jalali, A. (2014). Social Media Etiquette for the Modern Medical Student:A Narrative Review. International Journal of Medical Students, 2(2), 64–67. https://doi.org/10.5195/ijms.2014.86

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 2 (2014)

Section

Review

Categories

License

  1. The Author retains copyright in the Work, where the term “Work” shall include all digital objects that may result in subsequent electronic publication or distribution.
  2. Upon acceptance of the Work, the author shall grant to the Publisher the right of first publication of the Work.
  3. The Author shall grant to the Publisher and its agents the nonexclusive perpetual right and license to publish, archive, and make accessible the Work in whole or in part in all forms of media now or hereafter known under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License or its equivalent, which, for the avoidance of doubt, allows others to copy, distribute, and transmit the Work under the following conditions:
    1. Attribution—other users must attribute the Work in the manner specified by the author as indicated on the journal Web site; with the understanding that the above condition can be waived with permission from the Author and that where the Work or any of its elements is in the public domain under applicable law, that status is in no way affected by the license.
    2. The Author is able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the nonexclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the Work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), as long as there is provided in the document an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
    3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post online a prepublication manuscript (but not the Publisher’s final formatted PDF version of the Work) in institutional repositories or on their Websites prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. Any such posting made before acceptance and publication of the Work shall be updated upon publication to include a reference to the Publisher-assigned DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and a link to the online abstract for the final published Work in the Journal.
    4. Upon Publisher’s request, the Author agrees to furnish promptly to Publisher, at the Author’s own expense, written evidence of the permissions, licenses, and consents for use of third-party material included within the Work, except as determined by Publisher to be covered by the principles of Fair Use.
    5. The Author represents and warrants that:
      1. the Work is the Author’s original work;
      2. the Author has not transferred, and will not transfer, exclusive rights in the Work to any third party;
      3. the Work is not pending review or under consideration by another publisher;
      4. the Work has not previously been published;
      5. the Work contains no misrepresentation or infringement of the Work or property of other authors or third parties; and
      6. the Work contains no libel, invasion of privacy, or other unlawful matter.
    6. The Author agrees to indemnify and hold Publisher harmless from the Author’s breach of the representations and warranties contained in Paragraph 6 above, as well as any claim or proceeding relating to Publisher’s use and publication of any content contained in the Work, including third-party content.

Enforcement of copyright

The IJMS takes the protection of copyright very seriously.

If the IJMS discovers that you have used its copyright materials in contravention of the license above, the IJMS may bring legal proceedings against you seeking reparation and an injunction to stop you using those materials. You could also be ordered to pay legal costs.

If you become aware of any use of the IJMS' copyright materials that contravenes or may contravene the license above, please report this by email to contact@ijms.org

 

Infringing material

If you become aware of any material on the website that you believe infringes your or any other person's copyright, please report this by email to contact@ijms.org