Medical students behaving badly
The internet will get you into trouble. Everyone knows this, don't they? And yet, time and again we hear embarrassing tales of how someone posted a drunken photo or a dimwitted email on the web only to encounter the wrath of their employer.
Count medical students among the latest perpetrators. Sixty percent of medical schools reported incidents of students posting unprofessional content online, according to a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Nearly half reported use of discriminatory language, while 39 percent had depictions of intoxicated students and another 38 percent had reports of "sexually suggestive material." And perhaps most worrisome to medical schools, 13 percent reported incidents where doctors-in-training violated patient confidentiality online.
The study was based on a survey of medical schools nationwide to gauge how the proliferation of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube had affected professionalism for soon-to-be physicians. The survey also gathered information on policies regarding online conduct. Few schools, it turns out, (less than 10 percent) had any formal policies on internet use.
"The social contract between medicine and society expects physicians to embody altruism, integrity and trustworthiness. Furthermore, ethical and legal obligations to maintain patient confidentiality have unique repercussions," the study says.
But just what does "professionalism" mean when it comes to medical students and the wild wild west of the interwebs? Medical schools aren't quite sure.
While certain behavior such as violating patient confidentiality are clearly unprofessional, others such as making negative comments about the school or its professors may not be, the authors write.
Schools should add a digital media component to their professionalism curriculum with instruction on managing one's "digital footprint." "This is important, given that residency program directors, future employers and patients may access this information."
This article got me wondering, what are the true boundaries of professionalism online? A colleague once advised me: don't put anything on the internet that you wouldn't want a potential employer to see. Sounds reasonable. But when everyone seems to be sharing their every thought on the web, do things that used to be taboo become more acceptable? When have we gone too far?
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