Purpose
The Internet provides considerable benefits to medical and healthcare students by providing new opportunities for education and communication. However, the use of the Internet and social communication sites on the Internet can present issues in ethical behavior and professionalism. The purpose of this policy is to provide students of Ponce Health Sciences University with guidelines for the appropriate use of social media and to emphasize the responsibilities that students have in maintaining appropriate ethical and professional behavior in the management of patients assigned to them while participating in their care under the supervision of the attending physician or healthcare professional.
Definitions
Social media consists of any form of electronic communication, including but not limited to, blogs, wikis, virtual worlds, social networks, or other tools hosted outside of Ponce Health Sciences University. These include such sites as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YOU Tube, Flikr, Google+, Tiktok and any similar site developed in the future.
Policy
- Students are not allowed to release, disclose, post, display or communicate the following information:
- Identifiable, confidential, protected health information (PHI) regarding any patient associated with PHSU, its affiliated hospitals, and clinics, or other external affiliated health care organization. This includes but is not limited to, any information, such as initials, personal activities, record numbers, pictures, or other information that might enable external parties to identify patients. Disclosure of PHI may constitute a serious HIPAA violation and may have personal and/or institutional liability consequences.
- Confidential information regarding policies and operations, including financial information, regarding PHSU, its affiliated hospitals and clinics, or other external affiliated health care organizations.
- Students must also adhere to the following:
- Students are personally responsible for the content they post on PHSU-sponsored social media properties - from blogs to social networks, list serves, wikis, websites, forums, and other social media platforms.
- Students should have no expectation of privacy when using the Internet at PHSU or any of its affiliated locations and are reminded that any time spent posting and viewing social media sites or other Internet sites must not interfere with the performance of their duties.
- Students should maintain appropriate professional boundaries and should separate personal and professional content online.
- Students must not “friend” active patients or their families on any social media site.
- Students must not offer medical, psychological, or scientific advice on any social media site.
- Students should routinely monitor their own Internet presence to ensure that the personal and professional information on their own sites, and the content posted about them by others, is accurate and appropriate.
- Students must not post information on any site that might be considered offensive and reflect negatively on the student, peers, supervisors, other patients, or PHSU, its affiliated hospitals and clinics, or other external affiliated health care organization.
- Students should always be aware of their association with PHSU when posting to a PHSU-sponsored site or any other social networking site. Personal profiles and content should always be consistent with the professional manner in which students are expected to present themselves to peers, supervisors, patients, and others in all settings.
- Students must recognize that their actions online may negatively affect their reputations with patients, peers, and others, and may have long-term consequences for their careers.
- Students should consider that everything they post online contributes to a lifetime record that is readily accessible to others. Potential employers may use social media to access this record to evaluate applicants. Posting distasteful, immature, or offensive content may eliminate job or other professional opportunities.
Students must convey a professional and ethical presence to all who might view their online information. Violations of this policy will be considered a professionalism competency violation, jeopardize the student’s standing in the academic program, and may result in a written warning, probation, or dismissal from the program. Lapses in professionalism may also jeopardize the student’s ability to obtain satisfactory clinical rotations for post-graduate training.
Students should realize that there may be serious consequences for posting or promoting content that substantially disrupts or materially interferes with PHSU activities, or that might lead PHSU authorities to reasonably foresee substantial disruptions or material interference with institutional activities. This may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.
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