Changing Landscape

House directs AOA to develop social media guidelines for DOs

Many physicians don’t realize how much using social media can benefit their careers, resolution’s author says.

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When Simon Fraser, OMS III, and his roommate Nicholas Tanner Barnes, OMS III, were preparing to give a lecture on professionalism to new students at the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine in Athens, they wanted to incorporate social media into the discussion. After discovering that the AOA didn’t have official social media guidelines, they decided to craft a resolution calling for the AOA to develop them. They submitted the resolution to the Ohio Osteopathic Association, which in turn sent it through to the AOA House, which approved the resolution Saturday.

“Social media is such a valuable tool for networking and information sharing,” says Fraser, who is a former student Board member of the Ohio association. “But a lot of people are scared of social media … . If we had a professional guideline for it, it may help encourage physicians to use social media more.”

Newcomers to social media often don’t realize that they can secure their accounts to ensure that only certain people see their posts, Fraser says.

“A lot of doctors and medical students tend to not even think about security,” he says. “Definitely look at your pages and go through them. See if you feel comfortable with the security level and who is able to access your information.”

Physicians who shy away from social media may remember poor choices that other physicians have made, such as befriending patients on Facebook and posting recommendations for certain drugs, Fraser says. But those who avoid social media entirely can miss out on opportunities to learn and connect with others. He cited a recent CNN story in which physicians live-tweeted a brain surgery and posted videos of the surgery on Vine, a video-sharing application. Sharing the surgery on social media served to educate other physicians as well as help other patients who struggle with benign essential tremor.

The AOA’s guidelines should advise DOs and students on what not to do, but also instruct them on the ways social media can be beneficial to their careers, Fraser says.

“The new generation of physicians grew up with social media,” he says. “The people who are going to be within the AOA in the future have had this access for an extended period of time and have built up a level of understanding and comfort with it. Now would be a great time to bridge the gap between the attendings and the residents in terms of where they’re gathering information.”

Bruce Wolf, DO, is on the other side of the gap—he doesn’t yet partake in social media.

“I don’t use Facebook because of the privacy concerns, but eventually I’m sure I will get there,” says Dr. Wolf, who is a radiologist in Commerce, Mich. “I sit in front of a computer all day to do my job. The last thing I want to do when I get home is sit down in front of the computer.”

However, Dr. Wolf says he understands the role of social media and he supports this resolution. He hopes the resulting guidelines will address adhering to HIPPA while using social media.

“The younger physicians are all over social media. Patients use social media quite often as well,” he says. “It would be very appropriate for the AOA to develop social media guidelines.”

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  1. Pingback: Professionalism in the time of social media: Do’s and don’ts for DOs | JSNMA

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