Digital Professionalism Research Articles

Digital Professionalism in Patient Care: A Case Based Survey of Patients

The objective of this study was to obtain the perception of patients on the use of portable digital media devices by providers during patient care and compare the findings to a previous study that examined providers' perceptions on the use of these devices. This was a cross-sectional survey study. This study took place at a large tertiary referral center. Participants were identified via inpatient lists from general surgery services. Of those eligible to participate, 70% completed the questionnaire. While some situations were seen as less appropriate, the overall consensus from participants was that informing the patient of why the physician is using a digital media device made it more appropriate. Patients recognize digital device use in healthcare is appropriate and professional when discussed with them in advance. Overall, patients and providers are in agreement that portable digital technology can improve patient care and open communication about the use improves the provider-patient relationship. There is some risk to patient trust in using digital devices in their presence.

BIASAKAN YANG BAHARU: ANALISIS GAYA KEPIMPINAN PEMIMPIN SEKOLAH SEMASA PANDEMIK COVID-19

The worldwide Covid-19 pandemic has significantly changed the leadership style of Malaysian school leaders. To balance the current leadership challenges of the pandemic and the rapidity of technology, school leaders must think ahead and infuse new ones in leadership styles. As a result, the purpose of this study was to identify the functions and behaviours of new leadership styles of school leaders. The results of the questionnaire analysis collected from 103 respondents (principals=74) and (headmasters=29) school leaders using SEM AMOS successfully identified and validated nine functions and 42 behaviours in the new school leadership style. These functions are virtual meetings, virtual forums or discussions, sharing of new information, file sharing, virtual communication, supervision of digital technology-assisted teaching, monitoring student performance with digital technology, promoting development and professionalism. These functions include virtual meetings, virtual forums or discussions, the dissemination of new information, file sharing, virtual communication, the supervision of digital technology-assisted teaching, the monitoring of student performance with digital technology, and the promotion of development and professionalism. This study is expected to have a significant impact on school leaders' use of new leadership styles in the school.

Preserving professional identities, behaviors, and values in digital professionalism using social networking sites; a systematic review

BackgroundDespite a rapid rise of use of social media in medical disciplines, uncertainty prevails among healthcare professionals for providing medical content on social media. There are also growing concerns about unprofessional behaviors and blurring of professional identities that are undermining digital professionalism. This review tapped the literature to determine the impact of social media on medical professionalism and how can professional identities and values be maintained in digital era.MethodsWe searched the databases of PubMed, ProQuest, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and EBSCO host using (professionalism AND (professionalism OR (professional identity) OR (professional behaviors) OR (professional values) OR (professional ethics))) AND ((social media) AND ((social media) OR (social networking sites) OR Twitter OR Facebook)) AND (health professionals). The research questions were based on sample (health professionals), phenomenon of interest (digital professionalism), design, evaluation and research type. We screened initial yield of titles using pre-determined inclusion and exclusion criteria and selected a group of articles for qualitative analysis. We used the Biblioshiny® software package for the generation of popular concepts as clustered keywords.ResultsOur search yielded 44 articles with four leading themes; marked rise in the use of social media by healthcare professionals and students, negative impact of social media on digital professionalism, blurring of medical professional values, behaviors, and identity in the digital era, and limited evidence for teaching and assessing digital professionalism. A high occurrence of violation of patient privacy, professional integrity and cyberbullying were identified. Our search revealed a paucity of existing guidelines and policies for digital professionalism that can safeguard healthcare professionals, students and patients.ConclusionsOur systematic review reports a significant rise of unprofessional behaviors in social media among healthcare professionals. We could not identify the desired professional behaviors and values essential for digital identity formation. The boundaries between personal and professional practices are mystified in digital professionalism. These findings call for potential educational ramifications to resurrect professional virtues, behaviors and identities of healthcare professionals and students.

Digital professionalism through scenario-based mobile learning: Findings from an experiment (Preprint)

Digital professionalism through scenario-based mobile learning: Findings from an experiment (Preprint)

Analysis of Cyberincivility in Posts by Health Professions Students: Descriptive Twitter Data Mining Study.

BackgroundHealth professions students use social media to communicate with other students and health professionals, discuss career plans or coursework, and share the results of research projects or new information. These platforms allow students to share thoughts and perceptions that are not disclosed in formal education settings. Twitter provides an excellent window through which health professions educators can observe students’ sociocultural and learning needs. However, despite its merits, cyberincivility on Twitter among health professions students has been reported. Cyber means using electronic technologies, and incivility is a general term for bad manners. As such, cyberincivility refers to any act of disrespectful, insensitive, or disruptive behavior in an electronic environment.ObjectiveThis study aims to describe the characteristics and instances of cyberincivility posted on Twitter by self-identified health professions students. A further objective of the study is to analyze the prevalence of tweets perceived as inappropriate or potentially objectionable while describing patterns and differences in the instances of cyberincivility posted by those users.MethodsWe used a cross-sectional descriptive Twitter data mining method to collect quantitative and qualitative data from August 2019 to February 2020. The sample was taken from users who self-identified as health professions students (eg, medicine, nursing, dental, pharmacy, physician assistant, and physical therapy) in their user description. Data management and analysis were performed with a combination of SAS 9.4 for descriptive and inferential statistics, including logistic regression, and NVivo 12 for descriptive patterns of textual data.ResultsWe analyzed 20 of the most recent tweets for each account (N=12,820). A total of 639 user accounts were analyzed for quantitative analysis, including 280 (43.8%) medicine students and 329 (51.5%) nursing students in 22 countries: the United States (287/639, 44.9%), the United Kingdom (197/639, 30.8%), unknown countries (104/639, 16.3%), and 19 other countries (51/639, 8.0%). Of the 639 accounts, 193 (30.2%) were coded as having instances of cyberincivility. Of these, 61.7% (119/193), 32.6% (63/193), and 5.7% (11/193) belonged to students in nursing, medicine, and other disciplines, respectively. Among 502 instances of cyberincivility identified from 641 qualitative analysis samples, the largest categories were profanity and product promotion. Several aggressive or biased comments toward other users, politicians, or certain groups of people were also found.ConclusionsCyberincivility is a multifaceted phenomenon that must be considered in its complexity if health professions students are to embrace a culture of mutual respect and collaboration. Students’ perceptions and reports of their Twitter experiences offer insights into behavior on the web and the evolving role of cyberspace, and potentially problematic posts provide opportunities for teaching digital professionalism. Our study indicates that there is a continued need to provide students with guidance and training regarding the importance of maintaining a professional persona on the web.

Learning the importance of digital professionalism

Empowering students to make the most of virtual learning and networking via social media, and embrace online communities

A Preliminary Study on Uncovering Medical Students' Unprofessional Behaviors from YouTube Videos.

Creation of guidelines and education on digital professionalism have been sluggish despite the ever-increasing use of social media by digitally native medical students, who are at risk of blurring the line between their professional and personal lives online. A qualitative thematic analysis was applied on 79 videos extracted from 70,154 YouTube videos uploaded by Korean medical students between March and April 2020. We found 20% contained at least one concerning behavior themed under ‘failure to engage,’ ‘disrespectful behaviors,’ or ‘poor self-awareness.’ Professional lapses identified were classified into seriousness levels. Mostly were “controversial’ or ‘concerning’ but some ‘highly concerning’ contents were also found. This is the first study on digital professionalism behavior on medical students' YouTube videos. The potential negative impact on the medical profession of the easily accessible public online videos cannot be ignored and thus we suggest the need for them to be taken more seriously.

Did introducing Twitter and digital professionalism as an assessed element of the nursing curriculum impact social media related incidence of ‘Fitness to Practise’: 12-year case review

Many educators argue for the benefits of nursing students engaging with social media but some have concerns about inappropriate use. In 2014, we introduced Digital Professionalism, a mandatory curriculum innovation including assessed Twitter use, for nursing but not midwifery students. British nursing students who display unprofessional behaviour are subject to ‘Fitness to Practise’ hearings. We aimed to use routinely collected data to see if inappropriate social media use had increased from introducing Twitter to the curriculum. We used data (2008–2019) on Fitness to Practise cases for nine completing cohorts comprising 4398 nursing and 338 midwifery students. We compared annual Fitness to Practise incidence rates related to social media between cohorts with and without mandatory Twitter. There was no difference in the number of nursing students involved with social media cases before (7/2636 (0.3%)), and after (10/1762 (0.6%)) the introduction of Twitter. Nursing students, after introduction of Twitter, were no more likely than midwifery students (no introduction of Twitter), to misuse social media. Fitness to Practise hearings related to social media were highly infrequent. Our study supports the argument that benefits for most nursing students of introducing professional use of social media are not negated by increased inappropriate use.

Exploring the impact of digital professionalism awareness training on dental undergraduate students.

Since the publication of GDC guidance, there have been small, but rising numbers of Fitness to Practise (FtP) cases made against qualified dentists, relating to the use of social media. Prior to graduation, dental students currently receive training in the appropriate use of social media, but more work is needed to determine the most effective methods do this. The aim of this study is to explore the impact of the digital professionalism awareness training provided at one UK-based institution. In year 2, a "brown envelope" is compiled using an online publicly available Facebook profile search for every student. All year 2 to 5 dental undergraduate students at one UK dental school who had completed the "brown envelope" were invited to participate in focus groups to examine its impact on behaviour change. A qualitative framework analysis method was applied to the transcripts. Eleven dental undergraduate students participated in two focus groups. All students had experienced the "brown envelope" intervention. Four main themes emerged, including: a clear expression of dental student autonomy and rejection of regulation; that online activity in dentistry is different to medicine; that the intervention is useful and changed online behaviour; and constructive suggestions for improving training. The interactive "brown envelope" intervention for digital professionalism awareness training was well received and appeared to result in actionable behavioural change on student profiles (eg alterations in privacy settings or restricting access to their own "friends lists").

A 'brown envelope' intervention for digital professionalism training.

A 'brown envelope' intervention for digital professionalism training.

What is digital professionalism?

What is digital professionalism?

Building Telemedicine Capacity for Trainees During the Novel Coronavirus Outbreak: a Case Study and Lessons Learned.

IntroductionHospital and ambulatory care systems are rapidly building their virtual care capacity in response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The use of resident trainees in telemedicine is one area of potential development and expansion. To date, however, training opportunities in this field have been limited, and residents may not be adequately prepared to provide high-quality telemedicine care.AimThis study evaluates the impact of an adapted telemedicine Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) on telemedicine-specific training competencies of residents.SettingPrimary Care Internal Medicine residents at a large urban academic hospital.Program DescriptionIn March 2020, the New York University Grossman School of Medicine Primary Care program adapted its annual comprehensive OSCE to a telemedicine-based platform, to comply with distance learning and social distancing policies during the COVID-19 pandemic. A previously deployed in-person OSCE on the subject of a medical error was adapted to a telemedicine environment and deployed to 23 primary care residents. Both case-specific and core learning competencies were assessed, and additional observations were conducted on the impact of the telemedicine context on the encounter.Program EvaluationThree areas of telemedicine competency need were identified in the OSCE case: technical proficiency; virtual information gathering, including history, collateral information collection, and physical exam; and interpersonal communication skills, both verbal and nonverbal. Residents expressed enthusiasm for telemedicine training, but had concerns about their preparedness for telemedicine practice and the need for further competency and curricular development.DiscussionPrograms interested in building capacity among residents to perform telemedicine, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, can make significant impact in their trainees’ comfort and preparedness by addressing key issues in technical proficiency, history and exam skills, and communication. Further research and curricular development in digital professionalism and digital empathy for trainees may also be beneficial.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s11606-020-05979-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Digital Professionalism in Patient Care: A Case-Based Survey of Surgery Faculty and Trainees

BackgroundUse of digital devices have become ubiquitous in healthcare and can create professionalism issues. This study presents opinions of faculty, residents, and medical students to inform policy on the appropriate use of digital devices in the patient care setting. Materials and methodsA survey was administered from September 2018 to October 2018 to faculty and residents within the general surgery department at a large academic medical center and all fourth-year medical students at an affiliated university. The survey included direct statements and case-based scenarios on similar themes to triangulate responses. ResultsThere were 114 participants in the survey—50 faculty, 26 residents, and 38 medical students. Digital device utilization was equivalent among all groups, and all participants use a smartphone. Digital devices were most frequently used during rounds and clinical conferences. Overall, digital device use was found more appropriate when seen in the case-based format rather than as a direct statement. Furthermore, use of these devices was seen as most appropriate when the provider explained its use or left the room to use the device. ConclusionsDigital devices are used by faculty and trainees at similar rates for parallel purposes, and the benefits for patient-related care are evident. However, the use of digital devices in the presence of patients should be minimized and always preceded by an explanation. These findings can inform institutional policy when creating guidelines on the professional use of these devices in the patient care setting.

Patient Attitudes Toward Mobile Device Use by Health Care Providers in the Emergency Department: Cross-Sectional Survey.

BackgroundHealth care provider usage of mobile devices is increasing globally; however, there is little understanding of patient perceptions on this behavior in a health care setting.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to assess patients’ attitudes toward mobile device usage by health care providers in the emergency department and to identify predictors of these attitudes.MethodsThe study was carried out at the emergency department of a large academic tertiary care medical center in Lebanon. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted by administering a questionnaire to medically stable adult patients who presented to the emergency department with an emergency severity index of 3, 4, or 5 between January 2017 and March 2018. The questionnaire collected relevant patient demographic information and included questions related to their mobile device usage along with those evaluating attitudes for the use of mobile devices by health care providers with respect to six major domains: role in health care, distraction potential, impact on communication, empathy, privacy, and professionalism. The attitude toward mobile device usage by health care providers in the emergency department was the main outcome variable. A stepwise logistic regression model was used to assess the association between the outcome variable and the demographic and attitude-related independent variables.ResultsAmong the 438 eligible patients, 338 patients responded to the questionnaire for a response rate of 70.0%. Overall, 313/338 (92.6%) respondents agreed that mobile devices improve health care delivery, whereas 132/338 (39.1%) respondents were opposed to their usage by health care providers in the emergency department (95% CI: 34.0-44.4). The majority (240/338, 71.0%) of patients agreed that mobile devices are a source of distraction to health care providers in the workplace. Females (odds ratio [OR]=1.67, 95% CI: 1.00-2.78) as well as all patients (OR=2.54, 95% CI 1.36-4.76) who believed that mobile devices were a source of distraction, reflecting a lack of professionalism (OR=2.77, 95% CI 1.59-4.82) and impacting the provider’s ability to relate to the patient (OR=2.93, 95% CI 1.72-4.99), were more likely to agree that mobile devices should not be used in the emergency department.ConclusionsPatients’ negative attitude toward mobile device use in the emergency department is largely driven by patient gender (females), patient perception of the distraction potential of the devices, and their negative impact on the health care provider’s empathy and professionalism. The findings of this study shed light on the importance of encouraging stakeholders to impose a digital professionalism code of conduct for providers working in acute health care settings.

Bridging the gap: implementation of an online induction course to support students’ transition into first year medicine [Version 2

Introduction: Students transitioning into medical school encounter a series of transitions on their journey towards graduation. In the context of undergraduate medicine, students must develop new skills common to all incoming undergraduates (e.g., academic writing, digital skills), as well as subject-specific knowledge, e.g., regarding professionalism or anatomical dissection governance. Whilst the University of Glasgow School of Medicine provides on-campus induction activities, e.g., to prepare students to participate in problem-based learning, other induction material has traditionally been delivered in a didactic manner. Methods: We developed a five-unit online induction course using existing resources available under creative commons licensing. The course used an interactive approach to deliver teaching and signpost key resources related to digital and academic skills and professionalism. The course was released to incoming students (n = 316) via the institutional public Moodle site prior to their arrival at Glasgow. Student engagement and perception was assessed using quizzes, an online anonymous survey (n = 133) and focus group (n = 2). Results: Student engagement with the induction course was high: 95% (301/316) of students accessed the course, and 89% (280/316) of students completed the course by achieving 100% in all five end-of-unit quizzes. Students placed particular value on content relating to professional expectations and highlighted that inclusion of current students’ testimonies would improve the course. However, the requirement to engage with sections relating to fundamental digital skills was sometimes a barrier to engagement. Discussion: Overall, the online induction course benefitted students by helping them understand institutional expectations and creating an opportunity to identify their digital skills needs for them to succeed in their studies. These insights will be of key importance in supporting transition as we prepare for remote induction of our students in September 2020 and should be applicable to others interested in adapting and implementing this induction course in their own settings.

APPLICATION OF MOBILE TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PROCESS OF TEACHING FUTURE PHYSICIANS AT THE UNIVERSITIES OF THE USA

The development as well as the global and local spread of mobile devices, mainly smart phones and tablets, have led to the emergence of a new direction of electronic learning in the field of higher medical education, namely mobile learning. This phenomenon causes continuous research, study and application of mobile technologies for learning purposes by medical students and academics. In order to make mobile learning effective, higher medical institutions have to take proper measures. The academic staff should create required learning tools and methodological support, provide proper material and technical conditions for the efficient and safe usage of mobile technologies. The researchers should study the experience of developed countries in this direction. A profound analysis of foreign scientific evidence has shown that the USA ranks a leading position in this branch of innovation. This country has a long history of implementing mobile technologies into the undergraduate university training aimed at improving clinical thinking and communication skills of future physicians. Thus, our paper highlights: the conditions of implementation of electronic mobile technologies in the US higher medical education; current state of their application at medical schools and colleges of the USA; the requirements and risks of new technologies application in university training of future physicians; potentials of social media and gaming technologies as the professional training tools at US higher medical institutions. Priceless experience of the USA should be taken into account while designing new curricula and modernizing an academic process at undergraduate level in Ukraine. The preliminary conditions for this process primarily include the use of mobile applications, social media tools and “smart games” for learning. The electronic mobile technologies involving the tactics of a serious learning game are promising and can aid evolution of m-learning in the Ukrainian higher medical education institutions. However, electronic mobile technologies, including the above listed tools applied in the academic process could be beneficial only in case of their gradual, methodologically correct, grounded and controlled implementation and usage involving proper on-line behavior – digital professionalism.

The Contribution of Teacher’s Digital Competency to Teacher’s Professionalism at Vocational High School

Teacher professionalism is the ability of teachers to perform basic tasks as educators. The teaching profession as educators faces challenges that require a new set of competencies and broader competencies. The development of science and technology has changed many things and in various fields are switching in digital technology. The study aimed to analyze the contribution of teacher’s digital competency to teacher’s professionalism at vocational high school. This study was ex-post facto research, and The data were collected using a questionnaire with the content validity testing used construct validity. The research subjects were 33 teachers from 3 vocational high schools in Sleman Regency. Samples were determined using proportional random sampling. Data analysis techniques used in this study are descriptive analysis techniques and regression methods. The result of this study showed that the digital competency and professionalism of teachers were in the high category. Teacher’s digital competency had a positive and significant contribution to teacher’s professionalism, with the value of contribution was 16,5%, while 83,5% was explained by the other variables that do not investigate.

Developing and sustaining digital professionalism: a model for assessing readiness of healthcare environments and capability of nurses

IntroductionTechnological change in healthcare demands new ways of working. Access to, and use of, digital technology by nurses in Australia lags behind other professions. Governance frameworks and professional standards guide...

Nurses as Stakeholders in the Adoption of Mobile Technology in Australian Health Care Environments: Interview Study.

BackgroundThe 2017 Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) Strategy is based on the underlying assumption that digital technology in health care environments is ubiquitous. The ADHA Strategy views health professionals, especially nurses, as grappling with the complexity of installing and using digital technologies to facilitate personalized and sustainable person-centered care. Yet, ironically, the 2018 debate over how to enroll Australians into the national electronic health record system and its alteration from an opt-in to an opt-out model heightened public and professional concern over what constituted a “safe, seamless and secure” health information system. What can be termed a digital technology paradox has emerged where, although it is widely acknowledged that there are benefits from deploying and using digital technology in the workplace, the perception of risk renders it unavailable or inaccessible at point of care. The inability of nurses to legitimately access and use mobile technology is impeding the diffusion of digital technology in Australian health care environments and undermining the 2017 ADHA Strategy.ObjectiveThis study explored the nature and scope of usability of mobile technology at point of care, in order to understand how current governance structures impacted on access and use of digital technology from an organizational perspective.MethodsIndividual semistructured interviews were conducted with 6 representatives from professional nursing organizations. A total of 10 interview questions focused on factors that impacted the use of mobile technology for learning at point of care. Seven national organizations and 52 members from the Coalition of National Nursing and Midwifery Organisations were invited to participate. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data analysis was systematic and organized, consisting of trial coding; member checking was undertaken to ensure rigor. A codebook was developed to provide a framework for analysis to identify the themes latent in the transcribed data. Nurses as stakeholders emerged as a key theme.ResultsOut of 6 participants, 4 female (67%) and 2 male (33%) senior members of the nursing profession were interviewed. Each interview lasted between 17 and 54 minutes, which reflected the knowledge of participants regarding the topic of interest and their availability. Two subthemes, coded as ways of thinking and ways of acting, emerged from the open codes. Participants provided examples of the factors that impacted the capacity of nurses to adopt digital technology from an emic perspective. There were contributing factors that related to actions, including work-arounds, attentiveness, and experiences. Nurses also indicated that there were attitudes and influences that impacted thinking regarding access and use of mobile technology at point of care.ConclusionsNurses are inadequately prepared for the digital future that has now arrived in health care environments. Nurses do not perceive that they are leaders in decision making regarding digital technology adoption, nor are they able to facilitate digital literacy or model digital professionalism.

Performance Nutrition in the digital era – An exploratory study into the use of social media by sports nutritionists

ABSTRACT This study aimed to explore how social media is being used by sports nutritionists as part of service provision, as well as practitioners’ experiences and opinions of its use in practice. An exploratory sequential mixed methods approach was used during this research. Forty-four sports nutritionists completed an online survey detailing their personal and professional social media use. Semi-structured follow-up interviews were conducted with 16 participants who volunteered to do so. Survey responses were collated and reported as descriptive statistics. Interviews were thematically analysed. Social media was used by 89% of sports nutritionists to support practice, of which 97% perceived its use to be beneficial. Platforms were used to deliver information and resources, and support athletes online via pages, groups and 1–2-1 messaging. Social media facilitated improved communication between the practitioner and the athlete, as well as facilitating mobile and visual learning. Lack of digital intervention training and time were reported as challenges to social media use in practice. Sports nutritionists have embraced social media as an extension of service provision. Professional education should now consider supporting nutritionists’ in developing digital professionalism.