Development of an Instrument to Measure Pharmacy Student Attitudes Toward Social Media Professionalism
Open accessAbstract
Objectives. To develop and validate a scale measuring pharmacy students’ attitudes toward social media professionalism, and assess the impact of an educational presentation on social media professionalism. Methods. A social media professionalism scale was used in a pre- and post-survey to determine the effects of a social media professionalism presentation. The 26-item scale was administered to 197 first-year pharmacy (P1) students during orientation. Exploratory factor analysis was applied to determine the number of underlying factors responsible for covariation of the data. Principal components analysis was used as the extraction method. Varimax was selected as the rotation method. Cronbach’s alpha was estimated. Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to compare pre- and post-scores of each item, subscale, and total scale. Results. There were 187 (95%) students who participated. The final scale had five subscales and 15 items. Subscales were named according to the professionalism tenet they best represented. Scores of items addressing reading/posting to social media during class, an employer’s use of social media when making hiring decisions, and a college/university’s use of social media as a measure of professional conduct significantly increased from pre-test to post-test. The “honesty and integrity” subscale score also significantly increased. Conclusion. The social media professionalism scale measures five tenets of professionalism and exhibits satisfactory reliability. The presentation improved P1 students’ attitudes regarding social media professionalism.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The authors did not encounter a way to easily measure and scale perceptions of e-professionalism among graduate MDs and DMDs in the literature.
“While reviewing literature, although there are available scales and indexes in some form or another for the student population [44, 58], we did not encounter a way to easily measure and scale perceptions of e-professionalism among graduate MDs and DMDs.”
The Chisholm-Burns et al. instrument had a Cronbach's alpha of .72.
“Cronbach’s alpha measuring reliability of instrument was .72.”
From Development and validation of scale for measuring attitudes towards e-professionalism among medical and dental students: SMePROF-S scale (2021) · cites this paper as [17]
Some tenets of e-professionalism of medical and dental students are consistent with tenets found in the scale for measuring pharmacy student's attitudes towards social media professionalism.
“Some tenants of e-professionalism of medical and dental students are consistent with tenants found in scale for measuring pharmacy student’s attitudes towards social media professionalism [17].”
From Development and validation of scale for measuring attitudes towards e-professionalism among medical and dental students: SMePROF-S scale (2021) · cites this paper as [17]
The Chisholm-Burns et al. instrument had 22 items forming five factors named honesty and integrity, respect for others, accountability, duty, and excellence.
“After validation, instrument had 22 items that formed five factors named: honesty and integrity, respect for others, accountability, duty, and excellence.”
From Development and validation of scale for measuring attitudes towards e-professionalism among medical and dental students: SMePROF-S scale (2021) · cites this paper as [17]
The topic of the role of university in dealing with e-professionalism measured in the Chisholm-Burns et al. scale is consistent with the factor Freedom of choice in this instrument.
“For example, topic that tackles role of university in dealing with e-professionalism measured in Chisholm-Burns et al. scale is consistent with factor Freedom of choice in this instrument.”
From Development and validation of scale for measuring attitudes towards e-professionalism among medical and dental students: SMePROF-S scale (2021) · cites this paper as [17]
There are no validated instruments for assessing attitude towards e-professionalism of medical and dental students.
“Many studies have investigated aspects of e-professionalism of medical or dental students as future health professionals, but there are no validated instruments made for assessing attitude towards e-professionalism of those two populations.”
From Development and validation of scale for measuring attitudes towards e-professionalism among medical and dental students: SMePROF-S scale (2021) · cites this paper as [17]
Chisholm-Burns et al. designed and validated a scale for measuring attitudes towards social media professionalism on pharmacy students.
“One study by Chisholm-Burns et al. designed and validated scale for measuring attitudes towards social media professionalism on pharmacy students [17].”
From Development and validation of scale for measuring attitudes towards e-professionalism among medical and dental students: SMePROF-S scale (2021) · cites this paper as [17]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Coefficient Alpha and the Internal Structure of Tests
Cronbach, L. J. (1951) · Psychometrika · doi:10.1007/bf02310555 · Cited by 43,931 · see citing works
A Brief Tutorial on the Development of Measures for Use in Survey Questionnaires
Hinkin, T. R. (1998) · Organizational Research Methods · doi:10.1177/109442819800100106 · Cited by 4,095 · see citing works
Boomers, Gen-Xers, and Millennials: Understanding the "New Students.".
Oblinger, D. G. (2003) · Educational Review · Cited by 758 · see citing works
Choosing the Optimal Number of Factors in Exploratory Factor Analysis: A Model Selection Perspective
Preacher, K. J., Zhang, G., Kim, C., & Mels, G. (2013) · Multivariate Behavioral Research · doi:10.1080/00273171.2012.710386 · Cited by 348 · see citing works
Pharmacy Students' Facebook Activity and Opinions Regarding Accountability and E-Professionalism
Cain, J., Scott, D. R., & Akers, P. (2009) · American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education · doi:10.5688/aj7306104 · Cited by 190 · see citing works
Hammer, D. P., Berger, B. A., Beardsley, R. S., & Easton, M. R. (2003) · American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education · doi:10.5688/aj670396 · Cited by 136 · see citing works
Development of an Instrument to Measure Professionalism
Chisholm, M. A., Cobb, H., Duke, L., McDuffie, C., & Kennedy, W. K. (2006) · American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education · doi:10.5688/aj700485 · Cited by 117 · see citing works
White, J., Kirwan, P., Lai, K., Walton, J., & Ross, S. (2013) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2013-003013 · Cited by 93 · see citing works
Use and Views on Social Networking Sites of Pharmacy Students in the United Kingdom
Hall, M., Hanna, L.-A., & Huey, G. (2013) · American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education · doi:10.5688/ajpe7719 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
Legal and Ethical Issues Regarding Social Media and Pharmacy Education
Cain, J., & Fink, J. (2010) · American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education · doi:10.5688/aj7410184 · Cited by 73 · see citing works
Walton, J. M., White, J., & Ross, S. (2015) · Medical Education Online · doi:10.3402/meo.v20.28708 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
The Effects of a Social Media Policy on Pharmacy Students’ Facebook Security Settings
Williams, J., Feild, C., & James, K. (2011) · American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education · doi:10.5688/ajpe759177 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Self-citationThe State of Social Media Policies in Higher Education
Pomerantz, J., Hank, C., & Sugimoto, C. R. (2015) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0127485 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Graduating Pharmacy Students’ Perspectives on E-Professionalism and Social Media
Ness, G. L., Sheehan, A. H., Snyder, M. E., Jordan, J. K., Cunningham, J. E., & Gettig, J. P. (2013) · American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education · doi:10.5688/ajpe777146 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Bongartz, J., Vang, C., Havrda, D., Fravel, M. A., McDanel, D., & Farris, K. (2011) · American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education · doi:10.5688/ajpe759180 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Social network utilization (Facebook) & e-Professionalism among medical students
Jawaid, M., Khan, M. H., & Bhutto, S. N. (2014) · Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences · doi:10.12669/pjms.311.5643 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 3
- American Board of Internal Medicine Committees on Evaluation of Clinical Competence and Clinical Competence and Communication Programs. Project Professionalism. Philadelphia, PA: American Board of Internal Medicine; 2001:5-6.
- Statistical analysis: a manual on dissertation and thesis statistics in SPSS. http://www.statisticssolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/ SPSS%20Manual.pdf. Accessed September 29, 2015.
- DeVellis RF. Scale Development: Theory and Applications. 3 rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications; 2012.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Marelić, M., Viskić, J., Poplašen, L. M., Relić, D., Jokić, D., & Rukavina, T. V. (2021) · BMC Medical Education · doi:10.1186/s12909-021-02879-2 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
“professionalism on pharmacy students [17].”
BackgroundThe ethical challenges in pharmacy practice in community Pharmacies: A qualitative study
Esmalipour, R., Larijani, B. A., Mehrdad, N., Ebadi, A., & Salari, P. (2021) · Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal · doi:10.1016/j.jsps.2021.11.003 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Klausner, E. A., Rowe, E. L., Hamilton, B. S., & Mark, K. S. (2019) · American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education · doi:10.5688/ajpe7021 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
“such as feelings of academic entitlement, and students’ attitude toward social media professionalism.(6-8) To facilitate transition into the pharmacy program, some schools of pharmacy offer their incoming students pre-matriculation programs that typically range from several days to a few weeks and cover a variety of t…”
BackgroundSim, T. F., Sunderland, B., & Hattingh, L. (2018) · International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy · doi:10.1007/s11096-018-0774-x · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Imran, S., Yasmeen, R., & Mansoor, M. (2024) · BMC Medical Education · doi:10.1186/s12909-024-05142-6 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
“These tools for social media use are either too specific, focusing on the class or campus setting and the quality of information shared [12, 13], or too general, covering the whole of cyberspace [14].”
BackgroundJairoun, A. A., Al‐Hemyari, S. S., Shahwan, M. J., Godman, B., El‐Dahiyat, F., Kurdi, A. B., Al‐Ani, M., & Habeb, M. M. (2022) · Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy · doi:10.1016/j.sapharm.2022.05.009 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Viskić, J., Marelić, M., Machala Poplašen, L., & Vukušić Rukavina, T. (2022) · BMC Medical Ethics · doi:10.1186/s12910-022-00870-0 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
“While reviewing literature, although there are available scales and indexes in some form or another for the student population [44, 58], we did not encounter a way to easily measure and scale perceptions of e-professionalism among graduate MDs and DMDs.”
BackgroundE-professionalism in medical sciences: A Hybrid Concept Analysis
Mosalanejad, L., Tafvisi, M., & Zarifsanaiey, N. (2021) · Journal of Education and Health Promotion · doi:10.4103/jehp.jehp_408_20 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
“Chisholm‑Burns, 2017 [19] Pre‑ and post‑test survey The role of education in e‑ professionalism”
BackgroundResultCrilly, P., & Kayyali, R. (2019) · Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning · doi:10.1016/j.cptl.2019.11.012 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
A critique of validity analysis from instruments assessing the affective domain
Santee, J. A., Marszalek, J. M., & Hardinger, K. L. (2018) · Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning · doi:10.1016/j.cptl.2018.11.010 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Perception of Saudi Undergraduate Students Towards Professionalism in Medicine
AlKhater, S. A. (2021) · Sultan Qaboos University medical journal · doi:10.18295/squmj.4.2021.019 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“[18-21] The professionalism instrument consists of a questionnaire that includes 18 statements (items) that measure the ABIM’s 6 tenets of professionalism.”
BackgroundPharmacy Students’ Informal Use of Facebook and its Perceived Role in Pharmacy Education in Jordan
Subeh, Z. Y. A., Alali, F. Q., & Awaisu, A. (2018) · INNOVATIONS in pharmacy · doi:10.24926/iip.v9i1.951 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
ASHP Statement on Professionalism
Bingham, A. L., Haines, S. L., Summerlin, J., & Heunisch, C. (2022) · American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy · doi:10.1093/ajhp/zxac146 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Almetwazi, M., Alahmari, G., Alnahdi, N., Aljamil, F., Aljawadi, M., & Alhossan, A. (2021) · Pharmacy Education · doi:10.46542/pe.2021.211.222229 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“The questionnaire was developed based on the previous studies, Saudi culture, and college years ( Cain et al.,2009; Bongartz et al., 2011; Gettig, Lee, & Fjortoft, 2013; Ness et al., 2014; Rocha & De Castro, 2014; Chisholm-Burns et al., 2017).”
MethodMosalanejad, L., & Abdollahifard, S. (2022) · Journal of Education and Health Promotion · doi:10.4103/jehp.jehp_1666_20 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“Social media as a professional skill is necessary for dentistry practice in the 21st century.[38]”
BackgroundHelping fourth year student pharmacists develop their professional brand
Gortney, J. S., Agnihotri, S. K., Stepho, M., Yousef, A., & Tong, S. T. (2023) · Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning · doi:10.1016/j.cptl.2023.08.002 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Pharmacy Students' Perspectives of Social Media Usage in Education.
Prudencio, J. B. (2019) · Europe PMC (PubMed Central) · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Assessment instruments for e-professionalism in healthcare: a systematic review
dos Santos, L. G., Araújo-Neto, F. D. C., Tavares, T. M. A., Santos, D. D. M., Caxico-Vieira, L. J. S., Bezerra, L. T. C. D. N., Mesquita, A., de Oliveira-Filho, A. D., & de Lyra, D. P. (2026) · BMC Medical Education · doi:10.1186/s12909-026-09548-2
“[41, 45], multiprofessional instruments ( n = 2; 25”
InfluentialUnlocking the Value: Communicating the Value of the Pharmacist to the Patient
Rege, S. V., & MacDonnell, C. P. (2019) · Journal of Media Literacy Education
Viskić, J., Marelić, M., Poplašen, L. M., & Rukavina, T. V. (2022) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-1715693/v1
Viskić, J., Marelić, M., Poplašen, L. M., & Vukušić Rukavina, T. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26550931
Imran, S., Yasmeen, R., & Mansoor, M. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.25357751
O’Connor, S. K., Barbush, L., Haan, M., Cho, H., Robinson, K., Thomas, T., Seignemartin, B., Vernon, V. P., & Adams, J. L. (2026) · Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning · doi:10.1016/j.cptl.2025.102552
Technology and Social Media Applications in Healthcare and Pharmacy
Ucar-Yaman, N. (2026) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-443-26472-6.00062-0
- Authors
- Chisholm-Burns, M. A., Spivey, C. A., Jaeger, M. C., Williams, J., & George, C.
- Affiliations
- University of Tennessee Health Science Center (US)
- University of Tennessee at Knoxville (US)
- Venue
- American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2017-05
- Volume
- 81
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 65
- ISSN
- 0002-9459 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5468703
- OpenAlex
- W2622545727
- Cited by
- 24
- References
- 16
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 5 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 3
- FWCI
- 2.13
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Social Media in Health Education
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Innovations in Medical Education
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Leadership and Management › Healthcare Education and Workforce Issues
- Keywords
- pharmacy students, scale development, honesty and integrity, educational intervention, pharmacy education
- MeSH terms
- Professionalism, Attitude, Education, Pharmacy, Female, Humans, Male, Surveys and Questionnaires, Students, Pharmacy, Reproducibility of Results, Young Adult, Social Media
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
