Residents and Social Media
Facebook, and Twitter, and Blogs,
Oh my…
Pediatrics Chief Residents
Brian Flaherty, Lahia Yemane, Jamie Holland
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Discussion Points
• eProfessionalism
• Pitfalls of Social Media
• Benefits of Social media
• Social Media Policy
• eProfessionalism Cases
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Professionalism
ACGME expects professional residents to:
“Demonstrate integrity and compassion;
subordinate their needs to the needs of the
patient; respect patient diversity, privacy and
autonomy; and be accountable to patients,
society, and the medical profession”
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eProfessionalism
The application of classic concepts of
“professionalism” to our behavior in the on-line
world
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Common Breaches of eProfessionalism
• Divulging privileged information
• Inappropriate physician-patient relationships
• Displaying images or posting remarks that
lower society’s trust in physicians
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Benefits of Social Media
• Distribute common information/education to
large numbers of patients
• Discuss puzzling cases with colleagues
• Distribute education to students
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Why is a Policy Important?
• Protect the Residents
–HIPPA violations result in automatic
implementation of University and Hospital
level disciplinary policies
–Employers and fellowship programs routinely
screen applicants social media pages
• Link to policy:
http://peds.stanford.edu/policies/socialmedia
.html
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Scenario 1
An 8yo patient with ALL who a resident has taken care of during
his induction therapy is finally ready to go home after a 2 week
hospital stay. The resident has gotten along well with the patient
and his family. As they are leaving, the patient asks if the
resident will be his Facebook “friend.”
• How can a resident politely decline such a request?
• What alternatives can be used to communicate with
patients/families?
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Scenario 2
A resident is called in for their 3rd jeopardy shift in a row, taking
them away from a day on an exciting elective rotation. The
resident expresses their anger with a rapid series of “tweets”
proclaiming that “some residents in my program are so lazy, they
don’t deserve to be doctors and I am tired of picking up their
slack.”
• Is this an appropriate thing to say in a public forum?
• How can residents avoid publishing permanent records of
unprofessional speech against their patients, coworkers, and
employer?
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Scenario 3
At the annual hospital Halloween celebration, the patients are
encouraged to create masks and other costume items during art
time at the activity center. During the end of art time, a resident
walks by the activity center and sees several children have made
animal masks. The resident quickly pulls out their smartphone and
posts a picture to their instagram account.
• Is this a HIPPA violation ?
• How can HIPPA violations such as this be avoided ?
• How can images intended for teaching of exam
findings/procedures be used?
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Scenario 4
After a well deserved vacation to Mexico a resident posts
numerous pictures on their facebook account. Several of the
pictures are from a party the resident attended and he is seen with
various alcoholic drinks.
• Do photos like this change the perception of the resident, their
residency program, or physicians in general?
• Would you feel comfortable taking a child to this physician?
• What social events are acceptable to post?
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eDevices
• Only access Stanford/Hospital material from
encrypted/protected devices
• If a device is lost, report it immediately
• Don’t share passwords
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Some final thoughts
• Pause before you post
• Avoid posting when angry
• Caution with “CC”, “BCC”, “Reply All”
• Post things you would show your grandparents
• Avoid discussing patients
• When in doubt, don’t do it
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Thoughts? Questions?
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