Graduating pharmacy students' perspectives on e-professionalism and social media

A Scoping Review of eProfessionalism in Healthcare Education Literature

OBJECTIVE

This study sought to answer the research question, 'How does eProfessionalism manifest in health profession student behaviors?' Key areas explored were how the concept of eProfessionalism is defined in empirical studies, healthcare profession student and educator perceptions of how online behaviors reflected eProfessionalism, and how eProfessionalism as a construct might assist healthcare students to understand the implications of their online behaviors.

METHODS

Scoping reviews are used in research areas where there is limited evidence available. This review followed a systematic process using the extended Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, which included clear inclusion/exclusion criteria, and a process of charting, collating, and summarizing the results from searching 8 databases.

RESULTS

In total, 38 papers are included in this review primarily reflecting the professions of pharmacy medicine, nursing/midwifery, and dentistry. Five key themes were identified: defining eProfessionalism; online behavior; student/faculty perceptions of eProfessionalism in social media use; students not making a connection between personal use and online professional identity; and guidelines and training.

CONCLUSION

This review suggests that health professions students struggle with blurred boundaries between personal and professional online presence, particularly concerning social media. Despite guidelines some students demonstrate unprofessional behaviors online suggesting further support is required for students to demonstrate eProfessionalism when engaging in digital environments.

Helping fourth year student pharmacists develop their professional brand

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Building a professional brand is an important skill for student pharmacists, as this could provide them with a competitive edge given the current market environment and employment opportunities. One way to do this is through developing a personal digital brand. A pilot program was created to introduce fourth year pharmacy students to the basics of personal branding and positive uses of social media for professional development and networking.

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING

A two-part workshop series was developed to introduce student pharmacists to the concept of personal digital branding and to help them optimize their professional documents (i.e. curricula vitae, resumes, and letters of intent). The workshops were offered in a virtual format and involved subject matter experts as well as alumni stakeholders. Students were asked to participate in pre- and post-surveys relating to their perceptions of professional branding and the usefulness of the workshop series.

FINDINGS

Prior to the workshops, students expressed a moderate interest in using social media for professional purposes, yet few felt confident in how to do so. Following the workshops, students indicated the information provided had been beneficial, and they all had action plans for developing their social media profiles and revising their professional documents.

SUMMARY

Initial findings suggested students are interested in and would benefit from training on professional branding. While this first attempt at such programming had limitations, such as being delivered to a small sample, the results provide insights for expanding and improving these offerings in the future.

Testing adaptation and psychometric properties of survey instrument for students' perspectives on e-professionalism and social media in Iranian students: Corona crisis and medical education

BACKGROUND

The use of social networks in the field of education has also accelerated and has become a powerful source of learning for transformation and empowerment in various fields. This study aimed to test the adaptation and psychometric properties of an instrument for students' prospective on e-professionalism in the use of social media in Iranian medical science students.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this questionnaire, with the aim of psychometric properties of the perception toward social media in Iranian students, this survey instrument developed by (Ness et al.) in five fields in 2^nd-year pharmacology students in Purdue University The fields include accountability, hiring decisions, profile editing, professionalism, and privacy settings. In this study, first, a cultural adaptation was done by an expert panel. Then, psychometric properties of an instrument by content validity and construct validity using explanatory factor analysis were performed. Reliability was assessed by test-retest and internal consistency of items. The reliability of the survey instrument with three factors was 0.82 using the test-retest, and the internal consistency was good (r = 0.94).

RESULTS

The result of psychometric properties using the principal component method extracted three factors (accountability, hiring decision, and professionalism) to assessment of students' attitude to professionalism using social media in Iranian students.

CONCLUSION

The adapted and psychometric properties of the instrument developed by Ness et al., 2013, with three dimensions and ten items proved to be a valid, reliable instrument for use for assessing perspectives on e-professionalism and social media in Iranian medical students. This questioner may be suitable for Iranian researches in medical education.

Pharmacy students' personal and professional use of social media

INTRODUCTION

Current literature does not describe behaviors or the overarching opinion of pharmacy students on the use of different types of social media for personal and professional purposes. The objectives of this study were to identify predominant beliefs among pharmacy students regarding use of social media for professional and personal purposes, characterize pharmacy students' opinions on the effects of social media on their professional career, and determine pharmacy students' perceptions of using social media as tools for learning and discovery.

METHODS

A self-administered questionnaire was administered to pharmacy students at Auburn University (N = 450) and Lipscomb University (N = 212). Linear regression was performed to predict students' perceptions of the importance of social media to their future professional life.

RESULTS

The leading platforms commonly used by students for personal reasons were Facebook (92.5%), Instagram (70.5%), and Snapchat (70.5%). The most popular platforms used for professional reasons included LinkedIn (40.4%), Facebook (35.4%), and YouTube (29.2%). About 50% of respondents perceived social media to be important to their future professional life as pharmacists. Most students used YouTube and Wikipedia while studying or learning. The regression model predicting students' perceptions of the importance of social media to their future professional life was significant.

CONCLUSIONS

Pharmacy students most commonly use Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat for personal reasons, and LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube for professional reasons. Educators may leverage YouTube and wikis to support the education of pharmacy students. Pharmacy students appear to be more aware and active with security settings than previously reported.

Development and validation of a questionnaire for professionalism in cyber users in medical sciences in Iran

BACKGROUND

Considering the importance of virtual professionalism and professional ethics in medical sciences, and the necessity to pay attention to this issue and its impact on medical professionalism, this study aimed to build a professional culture questionnaire in a virtual environment for students of medical sciences in Iran.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This is an exploratory, sequential, mixed-methods research which was conducted in three sections. In the first section, the concept of e-professionalism in medical sciences was analyzed using the hybrid concept analysis in the theoretical work, field work, and final analysis stages in order to extract information related to the concept. In the second section, an item of the questionnaire was designed based on the concept, reviewed texts, and related questionnaires, in the third section, psychometric properties of a questionnaires were evaluated.

RESULTS

Totally, 39 items were included in the initial pool, which reduced to 33 items in the final questionnaire after reviewing the psychometric properties. Factor analyses led to extraction of five factors including appraisal of e-professionalism compliance with the laws and regulations governing cyberspace, individual professionalism, knowledge management, respect for professionalism in interpersonal and group rules, and complying with ethics in the use of cyberspace. The internal consistency of questionnaire was also confirmed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.78, also all factor correlations absed stability were significant (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

An exploratory sequential study in this study led to the extraction of five factors and development of a 33-item questionnaire in e-professionalism. As results and analysis of the psychometric properties and validation of each item, this questionnaire is valid and reliable for the assessment of levels of e-professionalism in medical sciences in Iran.

E-professionalism in medical sciences: A Hybrid Concept Analysis

BACKGROUND

Professionalism is one of the most important and vital concepts in the medical sciences. With the rapid growth of e-learning in the medical sciences in the past few years, the concept of virtual professionalism has emerged. This study was conducted as a hybrid concept analysis on describing e-professionalism in medical sciences.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This is a qualitative study with a hybrid concept analysis approach, consisting of theoretical stage, field research, and analysis. In the theoretical stage, the concepts of e-professionalism in medical sciences were identified through a review of the literature. During the fieldwork stage, in-depth interviews were conducted with five medical students who were intentionally selected. Finally, after analyzing the literature and the qualitative interviews, a theoretical description of e-professionalism concept in the field of medical sciences was extracted.

RESULTS

the themes (3 numbers) and the subthemes (4 numbers) were extracted from 62 codes. These themes include information and communion technology and educational strategies professionalism in medical education.

CONCLUSIONS

For describing professionalism, it is necessary to consider education and culture, role models, by emphasizing on the acceptance of professional responsibility, developing and improving social media policies, determining the scope of communication and interaction between individuals, and identifying the boundary between local laws and customs.

The use of social media as a tool to educate United Kingdom undergraduate pharmacy students about public health

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The role of community pharmacists in England now includes public health service delivery, which is deemed to be an essential pharmacy service. This study aimed to evaluate pharmacy students' perceptions of social media as a learning tool and to investigate if workplace skills could be imbedded into a course assignment.

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING

Final year Kingston University MPharm students (N = 120) were divided into 10 groups for a course assignment. They had to deliver an offline and online public health campaign on an assigned topic. Following the campaign, students delivered an oral presentation and created a poster to showcase their campaign content and strategy.

FINDINGS

Over half (51.3%) preferred the self-directed learning aspect of the assignment while 28.2% preferred the delivery of the campaign and use of social media. Students noted that they had developed team working, communication and creativity skills. Most (93.6%) agreed that social media was an effective tool when learning about public health. Students achieved higher scores for their social media pages than they did for their oral presentation.

SUMMARY

A blended learning approach proved to be an effective way to teach final year pharmacy students about public health topics. Social media was noted as an effective tool to learn about public health. A public health assignment is an effective way to support pharmacy students to learn how to use this medium appropriately to support healthy lifestyles.

Using the Extended Parallel Process Model to Frame E-Professionalism Instruction in Healthcare Education

Issue: With the proliferation of social media and the blurring of online and real-world lives, today's healthcare professionals must constantly work to protect and manage their online reputation. Unfortunately, they are often not taught this skill as part of their healthcare education. Although many healthcare educators agree that this topic needs to be taught to students, researchers have not presented a formalized pathway to support this type of instruction. Evidence: Research on e-professionalism, a concept that addresses an individual's online professional image, was originally presented in 2009 and has continued to be investigated with research supporting its importance. Scholars in the field have found that the cost of having a nonexistent or poor online reputation can cause a lack of trust in the patient-provider relationship and, in extreme situations, can cause healthcare providers to face criminal charges, lose their jobs, or be expelled from healthcare programs. For example, in 2014 an emergency room nurse posted a photo to Instagram of an empty trauma room and was fired from her position for what the hospital called "insensitivity." These types of social media posts have occurred consistently over the last decade, highlighting the need for formalized online professionalism instruction in healthcare education. Implications: This article suggests the use of the extended parallel process model as a guide for healthcare educators to use when creating instruction on issues related to e-professionalism and online reputation management. The extended parallel process model has been successfully used to create health campaigns since the 1970s and is a respected and frequently used health communication model. This article shows that the extended parallel process model supports a systematic approach to e-professionalism instruction that allows it to be easily integrated into existing healthcare curricula.

A critique of validity analysis from instruments assessing the affective domain

BACKGROUND

Schools and colleges of pharmacy need to show evidence that their students have internalized professional values, and many choose to do so through quantitative instruments. A review of the literature was completed to identify the evidence of validity of the scores from instruments designed to assess pharmacy students in the affective domain.

METHODS

Electronic databases were searched to identify instruments. Basic information regarding the instruments, the facets of validity assessed, and the evidence for validity were reviewed.

RESULTS

Of the studies identified, 25 focused on assessing the affective domain and reported evidence of at least one facet of validity. Most reported evidence of validity from two or more sources, and most reported evidence concerning test content and internal structure (i.e. internal consistency reliability or factor analysis). Other sources of validity were missing from most studies.

IMPLICATIONS

More research is needed to investigate the validity of the scores of instruments developed to assess pharmacy students within the affective domain, especially regarding relations to other variables, response processes, and consequences of use.

Exploring educational interventions to facilitate health professional students' professionally safe online presence

OBJECTIVE

To establish the most effective approach and type of educational intervention for health professional students, to enable them to maintain a professionally safe online presence.

METHOD

This was a qualitative, multinational, multi-institutional, multiprofessional study. Practical considerations (availability of participants) led us to use a combination of focus groups and individual interviews, strengthening our findings by triangulating our method of data collection. The study gathered data from 57 nursing, medical and paramedical students across four sites in three countries (Aotearoa/New Zealand, Australia and Wales). A content analysis was conducted to clarify how and why students used Facebook and what strategies they thought might be useful to ensure professional usage. A series of emergent codes were examined and a thematic analysis undertaken from which key themes were crystallized.

RESULTS

The results illuminated the ways in which students use social networking sites (SNS). The three key themes to emerge from the data analysis were negotiating identities, distancing and risks. Students expressed the wish to have material about professional safety on SNS taught to them by authoritative figures to explain "the rules" as well as by peers to assist with practicalities. Our interactive research method demonstrated the transformative capacity of the students working in groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study supports the need for an educational intervention to assist health professional students to navigate SNS safely and in a manner appropriate to their future roles as health professionals. Because health professional students develop their professional identity throughout their training, we suggest that the most appropriate intervention incorporate small group interactive sessions from those in authority, and from peers, combined with group work that facilitates and enhances the students' development of a professional identity.

Development of an Instrument to Measure Pharmacy Student Attitudes Toward Social Media Professionalism

Objectives. To develop and validate a scale measuring pharmacy students' attitudes toward social media professionalism, and assess the impact of an educational presentation on social media professionalism. Methods. A social media professionalism scale was used in a pre- and post-survey to determine the effects of a social media professionalism presentation. The 26-item scale was administered to 197 first-year pharmacy (P1) students during orientation. Exploratory factor analysis was applied to determine the number of underlying factors responsible for covariation of the data. Principal components analysis was used as the extraction method. Varimax was selected as the rotation method. Cronbach's alpha was estimated. Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to compare pre- and post-scores of each item, subscale, and total scale. Results. There were 187 (95%) students who participated. The final scale had five subscales and 15 items. Subscales were named according to the professionalism tenet they best represented. Scores of items addressing reading/posting to social media during class, an employer's use of social media when making hiring decisions, and a college/university's use of social media as a measure of professional conduct significantly increased from pre-test to post-test. The "honesty and integrity" subscale score also significantly increased. Conclusion. The social media professionalism scale measures five tenets of professionalism and exhibits satisfactory reliability. The presentation improved P1 students' attitudes regarding social media professionalism.

Examining Health Care Students' Attitudes toward E-Professionalism

Objective. To compare pharmacy, osteopathic medicine, dental medicine, and physician assistant (PA) students' perceptions of e-professionalism. Methods. A 20-item questionnaire was developed and administered to four cohorts of health care professions students early in their first professional year. The questionnaire contained 16 scenarios in which a hypothetical health care student or professional shared information or content electronically and students were asked to indicate how much they agreed that the scenario represented professional behavior. Results. Ninety-four percent of students completed the questionnaire. More female students were in the pharmacy and PA cohorts. There were statistical differences in students' perceptions of e-professionalism in five of 16 scenarios. Specific differences were most often between the osteopathic medicine students and the other cohorts. Conclusions. The health care professions students surveyed had similar perceptions of e-professionalism. Of the four cohorts, osteopathic medicine students appeared less conservative in their approach to e-professionalism than the other cohorts.

Use of social media to engage membership of a state health-system pharmacy organization

PURPOSE

The influence of targeted strategies implemented to increase member engagement on a social media page of a professional pharmacy organization was studied.

METHODS

The Ohio Society of Health-System Pharmacists (OSHP) implemented posting strategies to increase member engagement with its social media page in late 2013. Data were collected retrospectively for a nine-month period in 2013 (preimplementation) and a matching nine-month period in 2014 (postimplementation). The primary endpoint was reach (as provided by the social media website). Data regarding reach were reported to OSHP page administrators on a weekly basis. Posts during the study period were characterized by the day of week, time of day, type of post, and corresponding reach. Continuous variables were represented using means and standard deviations or medians and interquartile ranges (IQRs); categorical data were represented by percentages.

RESULTS

The total reach of posts during the nine-month study period increased postimplementation, from 10,826 to 32,338. Further, the median reach per post on the OSHP Facebook page was higher postimplementation (214; IQR, 107-380) versus preimplementation (152; IQR, 89-224; p = 0.035). Evening posts had significantly greater reach compared with nonevening posts. The median reach for evening posts was 232 (IQR, 143-378) versus 131 (IQR, 77-200) for nonevening posts (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in the median reach of weekday posts (179.5; IQR, 85.5-339.5) versus weekend posts (192; IQR, 113-252). Posts with photos or pictures had the highest reach of all post types.

CONCLUSION

Implementation of targeted strategies resulted in an increase in the number of users reached by a state health-system pharmacy organization's social media page.

Pharmacists' perceptions of professionalism on social networking sites

BACKGROUND

Social networking sites (SNS) are a new venue for communication, and health care professionals, like the general population, are using them extensively. However, their behavior on SNS may influence public perceptions about their professionalism.

OBJECTIVE

This study explored how pharmacists separate professional and personal information and activities on SNS, their perceptions of professional behavior on SNS, and opinions on guidelines in this area.

METHODS

In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with international practising pharmacists (n = 31) recruited from a range of countries (n = 9). Initially, pharmacists known to the research team were invited, and thereafter, participants were recruited using a snowballing technique. The interviews lasted from 30 to 120 min. All interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and thematically analyzed.

RESULTS

A majority of participants mixed professional and personal information and activities on SNS, and about one third adopted a separation strategy where professional information and activities were clearly separated from personal ones (e.g. two different SNS accounts, or one particular SNS for professional use and another platform for personal purposes). Most participants expressed concern over how pharmacists present themselves and behave in SNS when they reported (un)professional behaviors of peers they had observed. Examples of perceived unprofessional behaviors included revealing details of personal life and activities; open complaints about the pharmacy sector, co-workers, physicians, and patients; inappropriate description of pharmacists' roles and activities; and breaches of patient confidentiality. Positive professional behaviors, such as expression of compassion for patients, examples of effective patient management, promotion of pharmacists' role, and correction of misleading health information being spread online were also observed. There was no consensus on having professional social media guidelines. Some preferred SNS to be unregulated while most believed certain guidance was needed to maintain high professional standards in the online environment.

CONCLUSIONS

A definitive strategy to separate professional and personal information and activities on SNS was not adopted by most pharmacists. E-professionalism issues could negatively impact on the standing of individual practitioners and the profession. Most agreed that education about SNS use would be beneficial; however, support for guidelines or regulations for pharmacists' use of SNS was not unanimous.

Personal Digital Branding as a Professional Asset in the Digital Age

In recent years, society's rapid adoption of social media has made the boundary between professional and private life nearly indistinguishable. The literature provides guidance on how to demonstrate professionalism via social media platforms. Social media policies within health professions education tend to be legalistic in nature, serving primarily to highlight behaviors students should avoid. One missing element in social media literature is the concept of online invisibility. In this paper, we define personal digital branding, discuss the professional implications of choosing to abstain from social media use, and urge educators to recognize that the personal digital branding may be an emerging asset for young professionals in the twenty-first century.

Analysis of Pharmacy Student Perceptions and Attitudes Toward Web 2.0 Tools for Educational Purposes

Background: The use of Wikis, blogs, and podcasts can engage students in collaborative learning, allow peer feedback, and enhance reflective learning. However, no survey to date has been performed across all professional years of pharmacy students in order to obtain a comprehensive overview of student perceptions. Objectives: To identify the familiarity of pharmacy students with Web 2.0 resources available for medical education, and what barriers exist. Methods: This study surveyed students enrolled in the professional program of a US-accredited pharmacy school to assess their knowledge and current use of available online resources and attitudes toward the use of Web 2.0 technologies for educational purposes. Results: Of the 836 surveys distributed, 293 were collected and analyzed (35.0% response rate). Students reported using the following Web 2.0 technologies in the didactic and experiential settings, respectively: Wikipedia (88%, 70%), YouTube (87%, 41%), Khan Academy (40%, 5%), and medical or scientific blogs (25%, 38%). Although these technologies were more commonly used in the classroom, students agreed or strongly agreed such resources should be used more often in both the didactic (n = 187, 64%) and experiential settings (n = 172, 59%). The barriers associated with the use of Web 2.0 in both the didactic and experiential settings that were ranked highest among students included accuracy and quality of information and lack of familiarity among faculty members and preceptors. Conclusion: Pharmacy students across all professional years actively use Web 2.0 tools for educational purposes and believe that opportunities exist to expand use of such technologies within the didactic and experiential settings.

Graduating student pharmacists' perspectives on e-professionalism and social media: qualitative findings

OBJECTIVE To characterize students' views and opinions of professionalism on popular social media sites and compare responses about social media behavior among students in different groups. DESIGN Cross-sectional survey. SETTING Four colleges of pharmacy in midwestern United States. PARTICIPANTS 516 graduating student pharmacists. INTERVENTIONS Online survey with open-ended questions. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Qualitative analysis of responses and themes. RESULTS A total of 212 student pharmacists completed surveys (41% response rate). Mean (± SD) age was 25.2 ± 4.6 years, and 72% of respondents were women. Major overarching themes identified in the qualitative analysis were separation of personal and professional lives, how accountability for actions should vary by severity, and the extent of representation of the students' character on social media. CONCLUSION Identified themes provided important insights into the ways in which student pharmacists view social media and use this widely accessible means of personal communication.