The DOI matches its Crossref record; 18 of the 18 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Online professionalism and the mirror of social media.
Open accessAbstract
The rise of social media--content created by Internet users and hosted by popular sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Wikipedia, and blogs--has brought several new hazards for medical professionalism. First, many physicians may find applying principles for medical professionalism to the online environment challenging in certain contexts. Second, physicians may not consider the potential impact of their online content on their patients and the public. Third, a momentary lapse in judgment by an individual physician to create unprofessional content online can reflect poorly on the entire profession. To overcome these challenges, we encourage individual physicians to realize that as they "tread" through the World Wide Web, they leave behind a "footprint" that may have unintended negative consequences for them and for the profession at large. We also recommend that institutions take a proactive approach to engage users of social media in setting consensus-based standards for "online professionalism." Finally, given that professionalism encompasses more than the avoidance of negative behaviors, we conclude with examples of more positive applications for this technology. Much like a mirror, social media can reflect the best and worst aspects of the content placed before it for all to see.
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In the citing paper
“Patient privacy breaches can cause much greater harm when occurring online than when face-to-face given the potential wide reach of social media and the permanency of digital information.36”
From Social Media and Clinical Care: Ethical, Professional, and Social Implications (2013) · cites this paper as [36]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredIn the citing paper
“the academic literature replete with admonishments of how SM are dangerously breeching the old “boundary markers” of medicine: enabling all manner of distasteful content to be publically posted by medical students, residents, and other healthcare providers,7,14–17”
From Dangers and Opportunities for Social Media in Medicine (2013) · cites this paper as [17]
In the citing paper
“Professionals, not limited to physicians, have had their professional character judged on the basis of the way they represent themselves online; 36 to some extent, physicians will be viewed in their professional role whenever they are in public, including when using social media.37”
From Social Media and Clinical Care: Ethical, Professional, and Social Implications (2013) · cites this paper as [36]
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Citations
Cites
The online disinhibition effect
Suler, J. (2004) · CyberPsychology & Behavior · doi:10.1089/1094931041291295 · Cited by 4,375
Medical Professionalism in the New Millennium: A Physician Charter
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Self-citationThe Intersection of Online Social Networking with Medical Professionalism
Thompson, L. A., Dawson, K., Ferdig, R., Black, E. W., Boyer, J., Coutts, J., & Black, N. P. (2008) · Journal of General Internal Medicine · doi:10.1007/s11606-008-0538-8 · Cited by 425
Content of Weblogs Written by Health Professionals
Lagu, T., Kaufman, E. J., Asch, D. A., & Armstrong, K. (2008) · Journal of General Internal Medicine · doi:10.1007/s11606-008-0726-6 · Cited by 255
Practicing Medicine in the Age of Facebook
Jain, S. H. (2009) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejmp0901277 · Cited by 179
Medical professionalism in the age of online social networking
Guseh, J. S., Brendel, R. W., & Brendel, D. H. (2009) · Journal of Medical Ethics · doi:10.1136/jme.2009.029231 · Cited by 165
Chretien, K. C., Goldman, E. F., & Faselis, C. J. (2008) · Journal of General Internal Medicine · doi:10.1007/s11606-008-0796-5 · Cited by 129
Self-citation
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Babar, M. G. (2016) · International e-Journal of Science Medicine & Education · doi:10.56026/imu.10.1.1
Mafinejad, M. K., Kadivar, M., Asghari, F., Jannat, Z., & Hadizadeh, N. (2023) · Journal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine · doi:10.18502/jmehm.v15i10.11566
Os impactos da comunicação digital na produção textual
Vieira, N. V. (2023) · Brazilian Journal of Development · doi:10.34117/bjdv9n3-161
FEATURES OF THE APPLICATION OF SOCIAL NETWORKS IN PREPARING STUDENTS FOR PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
TELYCHKO, M., FEDORYSHYN, O., & Жорняк, Н. (2024) · Humanities science current issues · doi:10.24919/2308-4863/71-3-42
Influence of Social Media on Physicians' Behaviors
Agoulmam, I., & Chakor, A. (2024) · International Journal of Scientific Research and Management (IJSRM) · doi:10.18535/ijsrm/v12i04.sh03
“This real-time interaction fosters a sense of community and enables rapid information exchange (Greysen et al., 2010).”
BackgroundE-professionalism and Health-care Professionals
Kamaraj, K. G., Shavi, G. R., Shanmugam, S., Sennan, S. K., Gunasekaran, L., & Rajan, J. M. (2023) · Dentistry and Medical Research · doi:10.4103/dmr.dmr_49_22
Social Media and Clinical Practice: What Stays the Same, What Changes, and How to Plan Ahead?
Hilty, D. M., Myint, M. T., Strauss, K. C., Hoffman, P. E., & Stubbe, D. E. (2024) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-59936-1_11
Social Media in Dental Education
Kamarudin, Y., Nor, N. A. M., & Huang, B. (2025) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-981-97-0275-6_20-1
KRISHNA, P. (2025) · International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research · doi:10.36948/ijfmr.2025.v07i02.42106
“By social media, we mean online resources and various programs created to improve communication, knowledge acquisition, and real-time information sharing (6) .”
Kheir, D. Y. M. E., AlShammari, R. Z., Alali, S. A., Alshamsi, R. A., Bojbara, L. M., & Al‐Yahya, M. A. (2025) · Saudi Journal of Health Systems Research · doi:10.1159/000546110
Yu, N., Rui, J. R., Liu, S., & Chen, J. (2025) · Journal of Asian Health · doi:10.59448/jah.v5i1.71
Zalpuri, I., Li, S. T., Kind, T., Hilty, D. M., & Myint, M. T. (2025) · Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science · doi:10.1007/s41347-025-00526-x
“…EPAs are independently executable, observable, and measurable in their process and outcome, and therefore, suitable for entrustment decisions (Greysen et al., 2010); each EPA has many competencies merged within it and informed to varying degrees by six ACGME competencies (e.g., Patient Care,…”
Self-citationAlhomayani, K. M., Alwuthaynani, M. I., Alqahtani, R. A., Bukhary, H. A., Aljuaid, F. I., Alshaer, R. A., Mohammedkhair, A. A., Alotaibi, M. S., Althobaiti, O. M. A., Alsobaie, A. E., et al. (2025) · Saudi Journal for Health Sciences · doi:10.4103/sjhs.sjhs_155_24
Logwood, D. C., Nicholson-Bester, H., & Bollin, H. (2025) · Emerald Group Publishing Limited eBooks · doi:10.1108/978-1-80592-459-320251025
Examining Physician Credibility in the Age of Social Media: A Cross-Cultural Analysis
Al-Hasan, A. (2026) · Journal of Global Information Technology Management · doi:10.1080/1097198x.2026.2646731
“In contrast, in the US, a more individualistic culture, personal disclosure by professionals negatively impacts perceptions of professionalism, as it is often seen as blurring the boundaries between personal and professional identities (Greysen et al., 2010; Vukušić Rukavina et al., 2021).”
Clicks, credibility, and consequences: social media’s impact on medical professionalism
Cox, T., Columbus, C., Higginbotham, J. S., Reynolds, E., & Crowe, M. (2026) · Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings · doi:10.1080/08998280.2026.2665056
Othman, M., & Alshagrawi, S. S. (2026) · Frontiers in Medicine · doi:10.3389/fmed.2026.1884234
“In practice, the boundaries are often blurred, as personal posts may be perceived as professional endorsements and informal online interactions may be interpreted as clinical advice (4, 5).”
Ban, S., Lee, J.-Y., & Seomun, G. (2026) · Journal of Nursing Management · doi:10.1155/jonm/7991455
“This refects the increasingly fuid nature of the digital landscape, where traditional clinical boundaries between nurses and patients are progressively eroded [48].”
Assessment of Perceptions of Social Media-Based Professional Conduct Among Health Care Providers
Khan, M. M. M., Joseph, E. A., Gilberti, D., Anees, M., Chalikonda, S., & Allen, C. J. (2026) · JMIR Formative Research · doi:10.2196/87970
“Explicit guidelines are essential to help health care professionals navigate the blurred boundary between personal and professional identity online [6,7].”
Metadata
- Authors
- Greysen, S. R., Kind, T., & Chretien, K. C.
- Affiliations
- Yale University (US)
- Children's National (US)
- George Washington University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Greysen, S. Ryan
- Venue
- Journal of General Internal Medicine
- Published
- 2010-07-15
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 1227-1229
- ISSN
- 0884-8734 (ISSN-L)
- 1525-1497
- PMC
- PMC2947638
- OpenAlex
- W2163962302
- Cited by
- 323
- References
- 18
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 26 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 24 · 2016: 26 · 2015: 30 · 2014: 30 · 2013: 36 · 2012: 26
- FWCI
- 26.15
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Journal of General Internal Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Social Media in Health Education
- Social Sciences › Education › Innovations in Medical Education
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health, Medicine and Society
- Keywords
- medical professionalism, social media, online professionalism, professional conduct, physician-patient relationship, professional reputation
- MeSH terms
- Humans, Online Systems, Physician-Patient Relations, Physicians, Social Behavior, Internet
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