Hennessy et al The Clinicial Teacher SRO.pdf (406.16 kB)
Social media guidelines: a review for health professionals and faculty members
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 17:47 authored by Catherine M Hennessy, Claire SmithClaire Smith, Sue Greener, Gordon FernsGordon FernsBackground The rising societal use of social media has encouraged health professionals to use social media in their professional activities; however, this can be a daunting task, particularly for those who are uncertain about the boundaries for the professional use of social media. This article summarises the guidelines provided by medical governing bodies on social media use and provides practical advice on how social media can be used, which is transferrable across the health professions. Methods Nine guidance documents published by medical governing bodies in major international English-speaking countries were reviewed and analysed to identify their key common messages. Findings Five key themes were identified across all of the guidance documents, as follows: maintain patient confidentiality; defamation is unacceptable; privacy cannot be guaranteed; responsibility to maintain public trust; and reasons to use social media. Conclusions The guidelines predominantly focus on the risks of using social media. Although this is necessary, it is likely to inhibit the exploration of the potential uses of social media in health care education and practice. All of the guidance documents from governing bodies encourage the use of social media to engage with patients and to network with colleagues; however, there is relatively little practical guidance on how to use social media as a health professional. This article offers some practical advice for faculty members who wish to run development sessions on how to use social media for professional purposes.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
The Clinical TeacherISSN
1743-4971Publisher
WileyExternal DOI
Department affiliated with
- BSMS Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2019-05-28First Open Access (FOA) Date
2020-05-29First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2019-05-24Usage metrics
Categories
No categories selectedKeywords
Licence
Exports
RefWorks
BibTeX
Ref. manager
Endnote
DataCite
NLM
DC