As Canadian medical educators start to incorporate social media into their set of teaching tools, medical students and residents continue to wrestle with fundamental issues of how to use social media while maintaining professionalism.
At the recent Canadian Conference on Medical Education in Ottawa, use of social media was not the primary topic but use of social media platforms such as Twitter were pervasive and three research posters were presented specifically on the topic of professionalism and social media.
In addition, a pre-conference course featured experts from Canada, the UK and the US discussing how use of social media and especially Twitter can bring additional value to the learning environment. While sentiments such as that expressed by course panelist Nathalie Lafferty from Dundee University that “Twitter has become my personal learning network,” were heard repeatedly during the session, others acknowledged that use of Twitter by medical students was very low.
Data presented at the course courtesy of Catherine Peirce from the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada showed half of Canadian medical schools have published policies dealing with social media and that “all are enthusiastic and encourage use of social media.”
The research posters presented a far more cautious view of social media as expressed by medical students and residents.
A literature review of 23 studies by medical student Brittany Harrison and Dr. Ali Jalali from the University of Ottawa concluded that while social media networks are becoming “a ubiquitous source of information sharing in medicine,” medical students need to be aware that their conduct on social media platforms can impact future employment. Harrison and Jalali concluded it was “clear” too few medical schools have policies on social media conduct and that instruction in professionalism needs to begin at medical school matriculation.
This issue was specifically addressed in another poster by medical student James Yan and Dr. Robert Sibbald, professor of ethics, from the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University who discussed a pilot project with first year medical students.
The small study based on online survey feedback showed medical students were aware content they posted on social media could be viewed as unprofessional. Following completion of learning module in bioethics on this topic, the majority of students said they would modify or hide their social media use to avoid potential future conflicts with their professional career.
The third poster presentation showed some Canadian medical residents are continuing to put themselves at risk by having publicly accessible Facebook profiles that contained potentially inappropriate or unprofessional content.
The survey of first and second-year residents at the University of Ottawa by Drs. Jolanata Karpinski and Susan Bragg showed 28.7% of residents had public profiles on Facebook and of these 41.9% had potentially unprofessional conduct usually involving alcohol consumption or “rude” humour.
Karpinski and Bragg concluded: “educators and regulators have a role to play in increasing residents’ awareness of their vulnerability online and in promoting guidelines around e-professionalism.”
See it on Scoop.it, via Social Media and Healthcare