Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Separate the public and private persona: Physicans should employ a “dual-citizenship” approach while using social media.

I had the pleasure of listening to a talk on utilizing online resources and social media such as blogs, wikis, Facebook and Twitter for educating medical students and residents yesterday by Dr. Kenar Jhaveri, the founder of Nephron Power.

Online resources are indeed playing an increasing role in educating future doctors in the US and abroad. However, it is imperative that physicans take appropriate precautions while utlizing these resources to maintain confidentiality, honesty, and trust in the medical profession. Drs. Arash Mostaghimi, MD, MPA and Bradley H. Crotty, MD, recently published an excellent article in Annals of Internal Medicine which puts forth guideline for maintaining professionalism in the digital age. among other things they recommend a "dual citizenship" approach of separating the personal and professional persona and taking a pro-active approach to managing one's online presence. I highly recommend reading this article.

Ref: Arash Mostaghimi, MD, MPA, and Bradley H. Crotty, MD.Professionalism in the Digital Age. Ann Intern Med. 2011;154:560-562.