Abstract
BackgroundSocial media use by physicians offers potential benefits but may also be associated with professionalism problems. The objectives of this study were: 1) to examine and compare characteristics of social media use by medical students and faculty; 2) to explore the scope of self- and peer-posting of unprofessional online content; and 3) to determine what actions were taken when unprofessional content was viewed.MethodsAn anonymous, web-based survey was sent to medical students and faculty in October, 2013 at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, New York.ResultsThree-quarters of medical students reported using social media “very frequently” (several times a day), whereas less than one-third of faculty did so (p < .001). Medical students reported using privacy settings more often than faculty (96.5 % v. 78.1 %, p < .001). Most medical students (94.2 %) and faculty (94.1 %) reported “never” or “occasionally” monitoring their online presence (p = 0.94). Medical students reported self-posting of profanity, depiction of intoxication, and sexually suggestive material more often than faculty (p < .001). Medical students and faculty both reported peer-posting of unprofessional content significantly more often than self-posting. There was no association between year of medical school and posting of unprofessional content.ConclusionMedical students reported spending more time using social media and posting unprofessional content more often than did faculty.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12909-016-0572-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Social media use by physicians offers potential benefits but may be associated with professionalism problems
A variety of ethical issues may arise from social media use in the health care setting [3, 4], one of which is professionalism
Respondent characteristics 63.5 % (496/781) of medical students and 22.6 % (614/ 2713) of faculty members responded to the survey
Summary
Social media use by physicians offers potential benefits but may be associated with professionalism problems. The objectives of this study were: 1) to examine and compare characteristics of social media use by medical students and faculty; 2) to explore the scope of self- and peer-posting of unprofessional online content; and 3) to determine what actions were taken when unprofessional content was viewed. Widespread use of social media has impacted medicine in diverse ways. Recent systematic literature reviews highlight both the benefits and problems related to social media use in medicine [1, 2]. A variety of ethical issues may arise from social media use in the health care setting [3, 4], one of which is professionalism. An analysis of blogs written by health care professionals showed that confidential information about patients was revealed, and that the authors and the medical profession were depicted in negative ways [10]
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