Social media and the medical profession
Open accessAbstract
Use of social media by doctors and medical students is common and growing. Although professional standards and codes of ethics that govern the behaviour of medical practitioners in Australia and New Zealand do not currently encompass social media, these codes need to evolve, because professional standards continue to apply in this setting. Inappropriate use of social media can result in harm to patients and the profession, including breaches of confidentiality, defamation of colleagues or employers, and violation of doctor-patient boundaries. The professional integrity of doctors and medical students can also be damaged through problematic interprofessional online relationships, and unintended exposure of personal information to the public, employers or universities. Doctors need to exercise extreme care in their use of social media to ensure they maintain professional standards.
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These guidelines differ greatly and provide no official consensus on the definition of professional social media use.
“However, these guidelines differ greatly and provide no official consensus on the definition of professional social media use.”
From Evaluating perceptions of social media professionalism by healthcare workers (2026) · cites this paper as [2]
There is no consensus on what constitutes professionalism in online behavior.
“Although guidelines exist,1–3 there is no consensus on what constitutes professionalism in online behavior.”
From Evaluating perceptions of social media professionalism by healthcare workers (2026) · cites this paper as [2]
Various guidelines have been published to establish professional norms and considerations for healthcare workers when using social media.
“Various guidelines have been published in an effort to establish professional norms and considerations for healthcare workers when using social media.1–3”
From Evaluating perceptions of social media professionalism by healthcare workers (2026) · cites this paper as [2]
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- Authors
- Mansfield, S. J., Morrison, S. G., Stephens, H. O., Bonning, M. A., Wang, S., Withers, A. H. J., Olver, R. C., & Perry, A. W.
- Affiliations
- Australian Medical Association, Council of Doctors in Training, Canberra, ACT.
- Australian Medical Association, Victoria Doctors in Training, Melbourne, VIC.
- Monash University (AU)
- New Zealand Medical Students’ Association, Wellington, New Zealand.
- Doctors‐in‐Training Council, New Zealand Medical Association, Wellington, New Zealand.
- Australian Medical Students’ Association, Canberra, ACT.
- Corresponding author
- Mansfield, Sarah J
- Venue
- Medical Journal of Australia
- Publisher
- AMPCo
- Published
- 2011-06
- Volume
- 194
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 642-644
- ISSN
- 0025-729X (ISSN-L)
- 1326-5377
- OpenAlex
- W2407026835
- Cited by
- 112
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 21 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 13
- FWCI
- 15.47
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- figshare.com
- Licence
- Locations
- The Medical Journal of Australia (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Deakin Research Online (Deakin University) (submittedVersion)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- DigitalGeorgetown (Georgetown University Library) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Social Media in Health Education
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health, Medicine and Society
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Medical and Health Sciences Research
- Keywords
- social media, medical profession, medical ethics, professional standards, code of ethics, confidentiality, physician-patient relationship, defamation, professional integrity, medical students, online professional conduct
- MeSH terms
- Confidentiality, Ethics, Medical, Humans, Physician-Patient Relations, Physicians, Students, Medical, Internet
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