The DOI matches its Crossref record; 8 of the 8 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Facebook and the professional behaviours of undergraduate medical students
Abstract
Summary: Background: The rapid growth and accessibility of social networking websites has fundamentally changed the way people manage information about their personal and professional lives. In particular, it has been suggested that interaction in virtual communities erodes elements of responsibility, accountability and social trust that build traditionally meaningful communities. The purpose of this study was to investigate how undergraduate medical students use the social network website Facebook, and to identify any unprofessional behaviour displayed online. Methods: A voluntary anonymous online survey was devised by the University of Liverpool, and emailed to students. Question topics included the use of Facebook, privacy settings, groups relating to the course and professional behaviours. Results were input to spss for analysis. Results: The response rate was 31 per cent ( n = 56). The majority of respondents did have a Facebook account and admitted there were photos they found embarrassing on the site. Over half of the respondents reported they had seen unprofessional behaviour by their colleagues on Facebook. Although students say that they are aware of the UK’s General Medical Council (GMC) guidance, unprofessional behaviour is still demonstrated on the site. Discussion: This research highlights the issue of social networking websites and professionalism amongst medical students. Further guidance from the GMC and medical schools should remind students that images and information placed on social networking sites is in the public domain, and could impact upon their professional reputation and identity.
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In the citing paper
“The use of social media (SM) by physicians, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, has grown exponentially. 1-3”
From Perceptions of Unprofessional Social Media Behavior Among Emergency Medicine Physicians (2017) · cites this paper as [2]
In the citing paper
“This finding is also supported by numerous studies [5, 8, 10, 21, 22, 33–38] which emphasized the importance of structured education and the implementation of guidelines on the professional usage of social media among healthcare students and professionals.”
From Future healthcare providers and professionalism on social media: a cross-sectional study (2022) · cites this paper as [35]
In the citing paper
“Garner and O'Sullivan 16 surveyed medical students, 52% of whom admitted to posting photographs on Facebook â they considered embarrassing.16”
From What is appropriate to post on social media? Ratings from students, faculty members and the public (2014) · cites this paper as [16]
Citations
Cites
Online Posting of Unprofessional Content by Medical Students
Chretien, K. C. (2009) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.2009.1387 · Cited by 448
The 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
Practicing Medicine in the Age of Facebook
Jain, S. H. (2009) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejmp0901277 · Cited by 179
Defining medical professionalism: a qualitative study
Wagner, P. J., Je, H., MOSELEY, G. C., & Hudson, V. L. (2007) · Medical Education · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2929.2006.02695.x · Cited by 164
The Increasing Morbidity of Elective Spinal Stenosis Surgery
Carragee, E. J. (2010) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.2010.402 · Cited by 76
Stephenson, A. E., Adshead, L. E., & Higgs, R. (2006) · Medical Education · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2929.2006.02607.x · Cited by 74
Commentary: The Relationship Status of Digital Media and Professionalism: Itʼs Complicated
Farnan, J. M., Paro, J. A. M., Higa, J. T., Reddy, S. T., Humphrey, H. J., & Arora, V. M. (2009) · Academic Medicine · doi:10.1097/acm.0b013e3181bb17af · Cited by 68
Parker, M., Luke, H., Zhang, J., Wilkinson, D., Peterson, R. F., & Ozolins, I. (2008) · Academic Medicine · doi:10.1097/acm.0b013e31817ec5e4 · Cited by 56
Research works printed but not linked: 3
- GMC, 2007, Medical students: professional behaviour and fitness to practise
- Shapira I, 2008, The Washington Post
- Barney D, 2004, The Network Society
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Reviewing social media use by clinicians: Table 1
von Muhlen, M., & Ohno-Machado, L. (2012) · Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association · doi:10.1136/amiajnl-2012-000990 · Cited by 319
Integrating professionalism into the curriculum: AMEE Guide No. 61
O’Sullivan, H., van Mook, W., Fewtrell, R., & Wass, V. (2012) · Medical Teacher · doi:10.3109/0142159x.2012.655610 · Cited by 191
Self-citationNot just digital natives: Integrating technologies in professional education contexts
Smith, E. E., Kahlke, R., & Judd, T. S. (2020) · Australasian Journal of Educational Technology · doi:10.14742/ajet.5689 · Cited by 180
Social media in undergraduate medical education: A systematic review
Guckian, J., Utukuri, M., Asif, A., Burton, O. E., Adeyoju, J., Oumeziane, A., Chu, T. S. M., & Rees, E. L. (2021) · Medical Education · doi:10.1111/medu.14567 · Cited by 148
The use of Facebook in medical education – A literature review
Pander, T., Pinilla, S., Dimitriadis, K., & Fischer, M. R. (2014) · German Medical Science GMS Publishing House · doi:10.3205/zma000925 · Cited by 115
Metadata
- Authors
- Garner, J., & O’Sullivan, H.
- Affiliations
- University of Liverpool (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Garner, Jayne
- ORCID
- O’Sullivan, Helen
- Venue
- The Clinical Teacher
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2010-05-19
- Volume
- 7
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 112-115
- ISSN
- 1743-4971 (ISSN-L)
- 1743-498X
- OpenAlex
- W2056215801
- Cited by
- 103
- References
- 8
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2024: 3 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 11
- FWCI
- 9.09
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Clinical Teacher (publishedVersion, public-domain)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Social Media in Health Education
- Social Sciences › Education › Innovations in Medical Education
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Keywords
- Facebook, social networking sites, medical students, professionalism, unprofessional behavior, online behavior, General Medical Council guidance, privacy settings, professional reputation, medical education
- MeSH terms
- Curriculum, Data Collection, Education, Medical, Undergraduate, Female, Humans, Male, Schools, Medical, Social Identification, Social Perception, Social Support, Students, Medical, Privacy, Internet
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