This post is a continuation of the scholarly identity post from last month. In that post, I mentioned that employers have been checking social media to see what is posted about or by a prospective employee for years. After I wrote the post, I came across an article about a medical student who behaved unprofessionally, which ultimately cost him his residency at a particular institution. A quote from the article caught my attention: “The temptation remains to make impulsive online communication decisions when anonymity is assumed.”
The article is cited below:
Kaushik R, Sattler M, Bhamidipati V, Statzer H, Vu J, Wolfe AD. To Catch a Catfish: A Cautionary Tale of Internet Unprofessionalism. J Grad Med Educ. 2025 Feb;17(1):20-22. doi: 10.4300/JGME-D-24-00629.1. Epub 2025 Feb 14. PMID: 39980968; PMCID: PMC11838069.
After reading the article, I decided to do some research to see what else is in the literature about medical students and/or residents and social media. I wanted to share this information with you in an annotated bibliography—not that I think any of you are engaging in such behaviors. It’s always good to be knowledgeable about a topic that may affect your life. I also want to clarify that this search was not an all-encompassing literature review.
Most of the articles below can be found in PubMed using their PMID or PMCID.
Annotated Bibliography (Modified):
Lee YM, Lee J, Rhim HC, Park H. A Preliminary Study on Uncovering Medical Students' Unprofessional Behaviors from YouTube Videos. J Korean Med Sci. 2021 Nov 1;36(42):e296. doi: 10.3346/jkms.2021.36.e296. PMID: 34725980; PMCID: PMC8560317.
This is an interesting article on uncovering medical students’ unprofessional behavior in YouTube videos. When we add a YouTube video, how many of us consider the “potential negative impact on the medical profession of easily accessible public online videos”?
The table below is taken from the Lee YM article listed above.
Pronk SA, Gorter SL, van Luijk SJ, Barnhoorn PC, Binkhorst B, van Mook WNKA. Perception of social media behaviour among medical students, residents and medical specialists. Perspect Med Educ. 2021 Aug;10(4):215-221. doi: 10.1007/s40037-021-00660-1. Epub 2021 Apr 7. PMID: 33826108; PMCID: PMC8368941.
Conclusion from the paper above:
“Social media use among medical students, residents, and medical specialists is common. The majority of participants use social media to gather and share information that otherwise would be missed and to keep in contact with others. Among the three groups, medical students spent the most time on social media. Participants acknowledged that inappropriate information was commonly posted on social media, but they were more likely to perceive it as inappropriate when posted by peers and colleagues than by themselves. Addressing colleagues about unprofessional online behavior is most likely to occur when patient privacy and confidentiality are breached. However, the respondents mentioned that this is difficult in practice. Medical educators should thus equip trainees with the skills to provide feedback to address such issues in a constructive manner by using already existing (online) guidelines on professional behavior in the undergraduate and postgraduate medical curriculum.”
Nilsen K, Walling A, Dooley P, Krohn K, Kellerman R, Antoun J. To Post or Not to Post: Does Applicants' Social Media Affect Family Medicine Resident Recruitment? Fam Med. 2021 Oct;53(9):766-772. doi: 10.22454/FamMed.2021.292421. PMID: 34624124.
Great table below from the article cited above showing how many social media sites are checked for applicants. There may be more now, as the article was written in 2021.
Economides JM, Choi YK, Fan KL, Kanuri AP, Song DH. Are We Witnessing a Paradigm Shift?: A Systematic Review of Social Media in Residency. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2019 Aug 19;7(8):e2288. doi: 10.1097/GOX.0000000000002288. PMID: 31592016; PMCID: PMC6756642.
This article discusses how residents and program directors use social media to evaluate residents applying to their programs.
Barlow CJ, Morrison S, Stephens HO, Jenkins E, Bailey MJ, Pilcher D. Unprofessional Behaviour on Social Media by Medical Students. Med J Aust. 2015 Dec 14;203(11):439. doi: 10.5694/mja15.00272. PMID: 26654611.
This is an older study about Australian medical students, but I believe it remains highly relevant to today’s medical students. It’s easy to lose judgment when away from school, intoxicated, or when you don't think your social media will be seen by anyone who could harm you professionally.
Garmon EH, Morris KC, McAllister RK. Preserving Medical Professionalism in the Age of Social Media. JCA Advances [Internet]. 2024;1(3):100055. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950553424000558.
Quote from the Garmon article: “The increasing frequency of unprofessional behavior on social media platforms makes it more important than ever that faculty mentors uphold medical professionalism and teach trainees how to exercise discernment and good judgment in what will be shared publicly.”
The table below is from the Garmon article cited above.
Murphy, B. How M4s Can Make Social Media an Asset During Residency Applications. American Medical Association. 2022. Available at: https://www.ama-assn.org/medical-students/preparing-residency/how-m4s-can-make-social-media-asset-during-residency (Accessed: 04 April 2025).
Great advice on how to manage your social media during residency applications.
Sterling M, Leung P, Wright D, Bishop TF. The Use of Social Media in Graduate Medical Education: A Systematic Review. Acad Med. 2017 Jul;92(7):1043-1056. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000001617. PMID: 28225466; PMCID: PMC5487290.
Quote from Sterling article: “The effect of social media platforms on residency education, recruitment, and professionalism is mixed, and the quality of existing studies is modest at best.”
Vukušić Rukavina T, Viskić J, Machala Poplašen L, Relić D, Marelić M, Jokic D, Sedak K. Dangers and Benefits of Social Media on E-Professionalism of Health Care Professionals: Scoping Review. J Med Internet Res. 2021 Nov 17;23(11):e25770. doi: 10.2196/25770. PMID: 34662284; PMCID: PMC8663533.
Findings from the reviewed studies indicate the existence of both benefits and dangers of social media (SM) on e-professionalism among health care professionals (HCPs). Even though some barriers are recognized, this review highlights existing recommendations for incorporating e-professionalism into the educational curricula of HCPs. Based on all the evidence provided, this review offers new insights and guidance for future research in this area. There is a clear need for robust research to investigate emerging SM platforms, the effectiveness of guidelines and educational interventions, and the specific needs of each profession regarding their SM potential and use.
University of the Incarnate Word, School of Osteopathic Medicine, Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Student Handbook.
Available at: https://osteopathic-medicine.uiw.edu/_docs/student-handbook/do-student-handbook-2425.pdf
Social Media Policy, pages 47-49.
While at the SOM, this is the primary resource for information on the social media policy.
American Osteopathic Association’s (AOA) Social Media Guidelines –
AOA’s Code of Ethics -
https://osteopathic.org/about/leadership/aoa-governance-documents/code-of-ethics/
AMA Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs (2019) – Professionalism in the Use of Social Media - https://code-medical-ethics.ama-assn.org/sites/default/files/2022-08/2.3.2%20Professionalism%20in%20the%20use%20of%20social%20media%20--%20background%20reports.pdf
AMA Policy: Professionalism in the Use of Social Media - https://code-medical-ethics.ama-assn.org/sites/default/files/2022-08/2.3.2%20Professionalism%20in%20the%20use%20of%20social%20media%20--%20background%20reports.pdf
The two AMA links above discuss the positive and negative issues physicians and medical students face when becoming involved with social media. This quote caught my attention: “Physicians must recognize that actions online and content posted may negatively affect their reputations among patients and colleagues, may have consequences for their medical careers (particularly for physicians-in-training and medical students), and can undermine public trust in the medical profession.”
Please consider this information as helpful. Make decisions about your own lives as you see fit.
Should you wish for me to present this topic, or any other, to your group or to you individually, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I would be glad to assist.
Happy Searching!
Dawn Field, Your UIWSOM Librarian
Dawn Field
