Social networking (Facebook) could haunt doctors

[DoctaJay]

This link was sent out to our whole school by our Dean.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/c...uf_study_0711.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=0

Social networking could haunt doctors

By KIMBERLY MILLER

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Thursday, July 10, 2008

The hazards of posting revealing information on social networking sites are well-known, but when it comes to medical students, even innocent quips about college shenanigans could be too much.

There's just something unsettling about knowing that your doctor was a hero at "keg stands" or a member of "Physicians looking for trophy wives in training."

A University of Florida study published this week in the Journal of General Internal Medicine examined the Facebook pages of 362 medical students and found information that some faculty members believe is inappropriate for future doctors.

"We were a little shocked," said Lindsay Acheson Thompson, an assistant professor of general pediatrics at UF's College of Medicine, who worked on the study. "Facebooking is part of our culture, but when you are an emerging specialist in medicine, you have to realize that this is public domain that your patients can access."

According to the study, which began last summer, only 37 percent of the medical students studied had set their Facebook pages to "private" so that only people they approve can see it.

Students revealed sexual orientation and relationship status, posted political opinions and included photos, some of which implied excessive or hazardous drinking.

Other students were members of eyebrow-raising groups such as "I should have gone to a blacker college" and "I hate medical school."

"Doctors are held to a higher standard," Thompson said. "My hunch is medicine has just been a little bit behind in knowing how widespread the use of this is."

UF cautions all students about putting personal information on Facebook pages. Two years ago, voluntary guidelines were issued that include tips such as "Partying and boozing probably don't qualify as hobbies and interests."

Thompson said some professors are wondering whether stricter rules should apply to medical students.

Besides the embarrassment of a patient seeing a doctor in a compromising position, there could be more serious legal implications.

If a doctor gets sued for malpractice, a drunken Facebook photo from a college frat party could be used as evidence of a drinking problem, even if there is none, Thompson said.

Greg Florenza, a second-year resident at Shands Hospital in Gainesville, said he toned down his networking pages after he was cautioned near graduation about patients or employers looking at the sites.

And age, or endless residency rounds, seems to reduce social networking use. The study found that while 64 percent of medical students had public Facebook accounts, only 12 percent of resident physicians did.

"I'm pretty boring, so there wasn't anything outrageous on mine," Florenza said. "But things normal people do, having a beer at a bar, it can be misinterpreted and you have to consider what your patients may think."

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[Depakote]

This link was sent out to our whole school by our Dean.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/c...uf_study_0711.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=0

I'm actually surprised I haven't heard anything about it yet. Word through the grape-vine is that my school is none-too-fond of facebook.

*privacy settings to maximum*

 

[Trismegistus4]

With exactly this idea in mind, I've been careful not to post anything embarassing or controversial on my Facebook page. I have to say, though, that the phenomenon should be argued against on moral principles and not pragmatic ones. The idea that you shouldn't post pictures of yourself drunk and grinding against a stranger in a nightclub because it will hurt you in the job search later doesn't hold water when all of your peers participate in this dumbing down and degrading of social standards, so that when they've risen to positions of power people won't think there's anything wrong with posting pictures of yourself drunk and grinding against a stranger in a nightclub.

 

[Mistress S]

You know what I don't get about this? If you're going to post this kind of information about yourself- drinking/drug use, pictures of yourself in unattractive underwear, your prediliction for sex with strangers in truckstop restrooms- why not make your profile private? All the major social networking sites (myspace, facebook, etc) offer this option. I recently read an article about pictures and information from these sites being increasingly used against defendants in court cases, one of whom had even been warned by his attorney to take down an offensive page. If you're stupid enough to not only put this stuff on the internet but then leave your profile open to anyone- patients, attendings, program directors- to see, in my opinion you deserve whatever negative attention this brings you. I have a profiles on myspace and facebook, to keep up with friends and family that distance and the demands of med school otherwise make it difficult to stay in touch with. Even though I don't have anything particularly compromising on these pages, I keep them private (viewable to friends only) precisely because I don't want random strangers accessing my personal information and pictures.

 

[greg1184]

I follow one simple rule: Never post anything you may remotely regret posting or give away private information about you (e.g. address).

Making your profile private may or may not work, especially if you add random friends on facebook.

Facebook is an awesome place if used properly.

 

[DoctaJay]

I don't have anything bad on my Facebook profile, but this article did make me go through all of my picture albums and check the privacy settings. I was surprised that many of them were set to Everyone in stead of Friends Only. I think all that this article is going to do is make medical students up the privacy on their accounts...I've already started scouring my friend's list to figure out who I actually know.

 

[Monica Lewinsky]

This topic has already been discussed ad nauseum on SDN.

 

[DeAlighieri]

Get some perspective, people.

http://xkcd.com/137/

Life is too short to worry about the over-sensitive, and there will always be other opportunities.

 

[Aesculapius]

While it probably is stupid to not control your privacy settings, the people who are gasping that medical students (and doctors, for that matter) are *oh my god*, people!, should probably get a life and some perspective. Don't people nowadays want their doctor to be a real person, with empathy and compassion, rather than the old stereotype, anyway?

 

[tchoupdoc]

While it probably is stupid to not control your privacy settings, the people who are gasping that medical students (and doctors, for that matter) are *oh my god*, people!, should probably get a life and some perspective. Don't people nowadays want their doctor to be a real person, with empathy and compassion, rather than the old stereotype, anyway?

Yes, so public pictures of yourself being empathetic and compassionate are fine.

I know plenty of doctors who will never be seen even drinking a beer in public. Keep in mind that in a small to middle size town, the public may think that all doctors are on call all the time, regardless of specialty.

 

[badasshairday]

Yes, so public pictures of yourself being empathetic and compassionate are fine.

I know plenty of doctors who will never be seen even drinking a beer in public. Keep in mind that in a small to middle size town, the public may think that all doctors are on call all the time, regardless of specialty.

I wouldn't go that far. But I understand the reasoning behind it. As I start med school in ~2 weeks, I'm definitely going to stop smoking _for sure!

 

[tchoupdoc]

I wouldn't go that far. But I understand the reasoning behind it. As I start med school in ~2 weeks, I'm definitely going to stop smoking _for sure!

I graduated from medical school in 1998. I am a university attending. I don't know who or where you are, so don't view this advice as a threat of any kind.

I will give you some advice that I hope you will pass on to classmates, and be passed on.

1) Don't smoke anything.
2) Don't get arrested for anything.
3) Use birth control. (seems obvious, I know...)
4) Don't use any drugs that you cannot back up with a prescription.

Like it or not, this is what your patients expect of you. And I don't care what field you enter, you will not be a good doctor without your patients trusting you.

 

[Ashers]

I wouldn't go that far. But I understand the reasoning behind it. As I start med school in ~2 weeks, I'm definitely going to stop smoking _for sure!

MCW is a smoke free campus, thank goodness.

BTW, I didn't think anyone in CA smoked anymore based on all the legislation. Which makes it awesome for me right now.

 

[badasshairday]

tchoupdoc,

yep, thats why I need to quit, because patients obviously hold doctors to higher social standards because we are involved in their care. Nobody wants a pothead doctor, or ex-con doctor.

MCW is a smoke free campus, thank goodness.

BTW, I didn't think anyone in CA smoked anymore based on all the legislation. Which makes it awesome for me right now.

Yes, I don't smoke tobacco, only freaks do in CA. I have a prescription to a legal RX drug in California... if you catch my drift . That phase of my life is ending now, before I leave to med school.

 

[Ashers]

tchoupdoc,

yep, thats why I need to quit, because patients obviously hold doctors to higher social standards because we are involved in their care. Nobody wants a pothead doctor, or ex-con doctor.



Yes, I don't smoke tobacco, only freaks do in CA. I have a prescription to a legal RX drug in California... if you catch my drift . That phase of my life is ending now, before I leave to med school.

hehe. k. as long as it's prescribed. I'm a little tired at the moment and didn't get it initially.

There are a bunch of people in my class that smoke; I don't get it.

 

[Yakko]

tchoupdoc,

yep, thats why I need to quit, because patients obviously hold doctors to higher social standards because we are involved in their care. Nobody wants a pothead doctor, or ex-con doctor.



Yes, I don't smoke tobacco, only freaks do in CA. I have a prescription to a legal RX drug in California... if you catch my drift . That phase of my life is ending now, before I leave to med school.

Oh you can still dabble a bit while you're in med school, and do quite well. -Just don't smoke around test time.

 

[Dr.Millisevert]

With exactly this idea in mind, I've been careful not to post anything embarassing or controversial on my Facebook page.

I can't wait till the US presidential elections 20 years from now when they start pulling facebook photos of the nominees doing their keg stands! Awesome!

 

[tchoupdoc]

Oh you can still dabble a bit while you're in med school, and do quite well. -Just don't smoke around test time.

Emphasis on dabble.

The rules:
1) As a student, be prepared to pass a scheduled urine drug screen or breathalyzer.

2) As an intern through resident, be prepared for scheduled or random.

3) As an attending, be prepared for scheduled, random, and accusations without testing.

An intoxicated or hungover student will get a raised eyebrow. An intern will get a raised eyebrow, and a word in the hall to his/her program director. The average resident will be sent home, and a letter will be placed in his/her accrediting board. Second offense, license will be suspended, immediate psych eval and drug testing will occur, and if he/she wants to continue training, they will agree to ongoing treatment. For the rest of his/her career, and explanation of why licensure was suspended must be provided whenever applying for licensure, hospital priveliges, or insurance reimbursement.

As usual, attendings have got it pretty easy, by comparison I just have to answer letters of complaint to the state board about me when a mentally ill man swears that I came in the room and cursed at him and his wife--no I wasn't high, or hungover, or cursing. I had just shown up for work. But I had to justify my bad behavior, even when it wasn't my behavior. how do you justify it when it is?


Anyway, this line of work is stressful enough. If you want to complicate it even more, post keg stands and wippet portraits on facebook. And keep up the coke and weed until right before graduation, when you start getting real nervous about the drug tests at your hospitals in NY, Chi, etc.

 

[grandslam521]

On facebook, what do you do about all the pictures that were tagged of you by your friends while you were acting like a fool? You can de-tag these photos; however, they will still be viewable in your friend's photo album. Your privacy settings may be set to the max, but that doesn't mean your dozen or so friends who have pictures of you in their albums will be private. If someone filed a suit against you and "incriminating" pictures may be useful, then it wouldn't be that difficult for a lawyer to find them on facebook in this situation. I suppose the only thing you can do is ask your friends to take them down, and if they don't, then report them.

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

wow can't even have a personal life of debauchery?

ppl who facebook dig for lawsuit material can seriously kiss my ass. what a load of horsesh**.

 

[Mr hawkings]

wow can't even have a personal life of debauchery?

ppl who facebook dig for lawsuit material can seriously kiss my ass. what a load of horsesh**.

med students these days are not any worse than 30 years ago when it comes to drinking, drugs etc. The only difference is that we live in an age now where everything is documented in pictures and published.
Even if yo u dont take a pic yourself in a bar, someone always has a camera phone.
I myself do not have any social networking accounts but i've seen myself in the background of someone else pic on facebook and i'm wouldnt want that pic seen by my future patients.

 

[badasshairday]

.

 

[Random Anesthesiologist]

And here I thought my Project Runway addiction was safe!

 

[78222]

One thing that annoys me about this is the whole "pictures of you drunk" thing. Look, prohibition is over, alcohol is completely legal and although this country seems to be going into another "omg alcohol is the root of all evils" phase, I enjoy beer. I rarely get drunk (my bachelor party was an exception). I don't do stupid things when I'm drunk. I don't do keg stands. So what if I have a few pictures of me and my friends drinking a beer? Whose business is it if I do something completely legal that the vast majority of people in my age group do? Sheesh, lighten up people. I joined the medical profession, not a religious cult.

 

[greg1184]

One thing that annoys me about this is the whole "pictures of you drunk" thing. Look, prohibition is over, alcohol is completely legal and although this country seems to be going into another "omg alcohol is the root of all evils" phase, I enjoy beer. I rarely get drunk (my bachelor party was an exception). I don't do stupid things when I'm drunk. I don't do keg stands. So what if I have a few pictures of me and my friends drinking a beer? Whose business is it if I do something completely legal that the vast majority of people in my age group do? Sheesh, lighten up people. I joined the medical profession, not a religious cult.

I think the bigger problem people have is with pictures of those things you mention, not necessarily simply drinking beer.

 

[45408]

I've got my profile set fairly private, and I've only got tasteful pictures on there. There's a few pics with some alcoholic beverages but pretty tame stuff.

 

[DeAlighieri]

Bah, I don't care what anyone thinks, I'm not getting rid of my pics of that drunken-midget-racing-and-hula-girls night in the secret underground club that lies in the heart of Gibraltar.

 

[tchoupdoc]

One thing that annoys me about this is the whole "pictures of you drunk" thing. Look, prohibition is over, alcohol is completely legal and although this country seems to be going into another "omg alcohol is the root of all evils" phase, I enjoy beer. I rarely get drunk (my bachelor party was an exception). I don't do stupid things when I'm drunk. I don't do keg stands. So what if I have a few pictures of me and my friends drinking a beer? Whose business is it if I do something completely legal that the vast majority of people in my age group do? Sheesh, lighten up people. I joined the medical profession, not a religious cult.

I agree totally.

Let's be honest: if you can get into medical school, and then FINISH medical school, and then FINISH a residency, the odds of you having significantly impaired judgement at any minute in any 24 hours is pretty low.

The issue is not how good you are, it is how good they are-- they being the lawyers. An excellent lawyer once told me that when he and his partner talked at the end of the day, questions like the following were never asked:
1) did you treat the witnesses with respect?
2) Did you explain to the judge or jury that this physician on the stand was well trained, and compassionate?
3) Was justice done?

There is one question:
"Did you win?"

They will dig up whatever they have to in order to win for their clients. That is their job.

I am not slamming lawyers. They are doing their jobs, and I want one that good when I need one. And of course you can drink beer. You can do whatever you want. But documentation of it to be viewed by anyone on facebook or myspace seems a lot like picking up smoking filterless camels at age 25. Sure, it probably won't kill you--soon--, but it sure complicates things.

(BTW, as a practicing MD, I don't understand why ANY DOCTOR, or future doctor, ANYWHERE, wants a web presence that is anything more than a business card. Reasons are innumerable.)

 

[badasshairday]

(BTW, as a practicing MD, I don't understand why ANY DOCTOR, or future doctor, ANYWHERE, wants a web presence that is anything more than a business card. Reasons are innumerable.)

Just to keep in touch with friends. I guess it is a generation thing too.

 

[greg1184]

Just to keep in touch with friends. I guess it is a generation thing too.

Because, you know, Doctors are supposed to live a reclusive life isolated from society and everyone else.

 

[tchoupdoc]

Because, you know, Doctors are supposed to live a reclusive life isolated from society and everyone else.

No, you are not supposed to. But recommend that you do. I have never met a single doctor who can handle being available 24/7/365. Wait until you have one Axis II or somatoform disorder patient who gets your home or cell number. And for doctors, google maps is not great for separating work from family.

Badasshairday: it IS a generational thing. The facebooks on the internets is cool, because I have caught up with some of my friends from college!! But please keep the above in mind. You are dealing with sick people, both mentally and physically.

 

[greg1184]

No, you are not supposed to. But recommend that you do. I have never met a single doctor who can handle being available 24/7/365. Wait until you have one Axis II or somatoform disorder patient who gets your home or cell number. And for doctors, google maps is not great for separating work from family.

That is true, however I doubt that people who have these disorders would reside on facebook. And even if they did, most people on facebook limit their profiles to their friends. You can go as far as being invisible to everyone except your friends, making people unable to add you as a friend. Only you can add friends. I don't provide my cell phone number or home address on facebook. As I always have said, what I put on facebook is what I would have no problem having people know about me (e.g. favorite music, hobbies, etc).

 

[tchoupdoc]

That is true, however I doubt that people who have these disorders would reside on facebook.


And even if they did, most people on facebook limit their profiles to their friends. You can go as far as being invisible to everyone except your friends, making people unable to add you as a friend. Only you can add friends. I don't provide my cell phone number or home address on facebook. As I always have said, what I put on facebook is what I would have no problem having people know about me (e.g. favorite music, hobbies, etc).

There are people in your class with these disorders. Wait until your psychpath lectures.

Sounds like you are already quite sensible about the pictures you post as well.

Sorry, I got distracted from the thread's topic. I started thinking of general threats to docs' privacy, on the web and in meatspace.

 

[footballrules]

Everyone can change their settings any way they want. If a lawyer wants to look at what is in your Internet social space, all it takes is permission from the judge, a code change from the website to by pass all privacy settings, and the lawyer can get anything about you.

People wrongly assume that having your privacy settings to the max will protect them. Such fools.

 

[greg1184]

Everyone can change their settings any way they want. If a lawyer wants to look at what is in your Internet social space, all it takes is permission from the judge, a code change from the website to by pass all privacy settings, and the lawyer can get anything about you.

People wrongly assume that having your privacy settings to the max will protect them. Such fools.

Yes, assuming there is an underlying cause to them wanting to look at your profile, like a crime. I fail to see how this is relevant to medical school.

 

[footballrules]

Yes, assuming there is an underlying cause to them wanting to look at your profile, like a crime. I fail to see how this is relevant to medical school.

There are Web forums that provide codes to by pass any privacy setting. I could share some of this information, but I don't want to get myself in trouble with SDN. Facebook does a terrible job with their secruity codes....said so by technology experts. It is very easy to bypass any Facebook secruity code. A patient that hated you could easily go on the Internet and hack into your Facebook account.

My advice, don't provide a phone number, home address, or email address.

 

[Depakote]

Everyone can change their settings any way they want. If a lawyer wants to look at what is in your Internet social space, all it takes is permission from the judge, a code change from the website to by pass all privacy settings, and the lawyer can get anything about you.

People wrongly assume that having your privacy settings to the max will protect them. Such fools.

Your honor, we have reason to suspect that football rules once consumed a "bodyshot" off a girl during spring break when he was in medical school, 8 years ago. We'd like to access his facebook profile to verify this.

And what relevance does this have to the patient's claims that footballrules missed diagnosing the patient's condition on x-ray?

 

[footballrules]

There are Web forums that provide codes to by pass any privacy setting. I could share some of this information, but I don't want to get myself in trouble with SDN. Facebook does a terrible job with their secruity codes....said so by technology experts. It is very easy to bypass any Facebook secruity code. A patient that hated you could easily go on the Internet and hack into your Facebook account.

My advice, don't provide a phone number, home address, or email address.

The worst thing a person can do is leave themself taged to any photo. Enter a code into a add-on with Firefox and you can view any taged photo of any person that has a Facebook account. The name will appear "red" when you search the name of the person. Then you just open their photos and view any taged photo...this also gives access to any photo on the friends photo album that the taged photo originated from.

 

[footballrules]

Your honor, we have reason to suspect that football rules once consumed a "bodyshot" off a girl during spring break when he was in medical school, 8 years ago. We'd like to access his facebook profile to verify this.

And what relevance does this have to the patient's claims that footballrules missed diagnosing the patient's condition on x-ray?

All a lawyer has to do is ask for a background check on the Internet for evidence. I can share a few news reports if you want some evidence.

 

[Depakote]

The worst thing a person can do is leave themself taged to any photo. Enter a code into a add-on with Firefox and you can view any taged photo of any person that has a Facebook account. The name will appear "red" when you search the name of the person. Then you just open their photos and view any taged photo...this also gives access to any photo on the friends photo album that the taged photo originated from.

Even assuming this works in albums with max settings, isn't this only an issue if you're tagged in photos doing something you wouldn't want to be seen doing?

I peeked at my tagged photos, and the worst I'm seen doing is holding a drink in a few, not looking inebriated.

If someone were to take the stalkeresque measures you describe above, it's not like they'd see anything bad.

 

[Depakote]

All a lawyer has to do is ask for a background check on the Internet for evidence. I can share a few news reports if you want some evidence.

What I'm asking is, what relevance would a facebook photo have to any case you'd have as a physician.

If it was public access, then they might be able to use it to try to vilify you, but this (the situation you're suggesting) would be the equivalent of them requesting a search warrant and digging through your attic to find things completely unrelated to the case to haul into court.

 

[footballrules]

What I'm asking is, what relevance would a facebook photo have to any case you'd have as a physician.

If it was public access, then they might be able to use it to try to vilify you, but this (the situation you're suggesting) would be the equivalent of them requesting a search warrant and digging through your attic to find things completely unrelated to the case to haul into court.

Everything is fine as long as one doesn't post anything that could get them in trouble (like a photo a patient in the hospital, drinking the night before a surgery that lead to complications and a lawsuit-trust me a lawyer would use this against anyone).

Just be smart and don't post any personal information (no email address, no street address, etc, etc).

 

[tchoupdoc]

Everything is fine as long as one doesn't post anything that could get them in trouble (like a photo a patient in the hospital, drinking the night before a surgery that lead to complications and a lawsuit-trust me a lawyer would use this against anyone).

Just be smart and don't post any personal information (no email address, no street address, etc, etc).

My primary concerns as a student and resident would be a lot more mundane than lawyers:
1) Residency coordinators/senior residents ranking students lists for residency. Especially in ent, ortho, etc.
2) Hospital CEO's or medical partners looking for potential hires

Once you are out--well, come to think of it, as a resident-- I would worry about the medico-legal side.

Personally, I am most creeped out, or paranoid, about patients and the public. Just consider how everyone in the ED wears their ID's backwards. One our residents learned the lesson when he got into a little spat with a family member, and the guy stared at his ID and promised, "I'll remember you. This isn't over."

What I meant by my above post about a minimal web presence for docs: you are allowing such people to find you from the comfort of their own homes, without even bothering with the verbal threat!!

 

[alfonzarel]

if someone is dumb enough to post something on facebook/myspace/whatever that can ACTUALLY be used against them, then they deserve what they get.

i think the way to avoid ANY reprocussions from any of this is so simple. make your profile private and don't post dumb crap = you're good.

 

[sprinkibrio]

I can't wait till the US presidential elections 20 years from now when they start pulling facebook photos of the nominees doing their keg stands! Awesome!

My two friends who aim to be the future president have already taken this into account... LOL.

 

[kirschwasser37]

As for tagged photos of you...Facebook has an option to keep those "Friends Only", which untags you in the photo when a non friend looks at it.