Management of electronic social networks by students of medicine: The case of publication of photographs with patients and professional medical conduct

Abstract

Introduction: The socio-demographic characterization of medical students at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Cali, Colombia, was made using a survey and focus group discussion to collect information on access to the Internet, management of electronic social networks and the dissemination of photographs with patients taken during medical teaching rounds, a practice that constitutes a breach of professional medical conduct. Objective: To identify the management of social electronic networks by students of medicine with respect to the publication of photographs with patients. Materials and methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was undertaken to characterize students of medicine at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Cali. Of the 423 students enrolled in January 2013, 299 participated in a survey designed with the software Cardiff TELEform®, version 10.0. Twenty students were also selected at random for a focus group discussion on the publication of photographs with patients on electronic social networks. Results: Of the students surveyed, 97.6% claimed to be active users of at least one of the main electronic social networks (96.2% Facebook, 70.5% Instagram and 44.1% Twitter). Of these, 52 (17.6%) admitted having published a photograph showing patient care on at least one occasion. Conclusion: Most of the students had smartphones and user profiles on the main social electronic networks, on which they disseminated photographs of patients taken during teaching rounds, as well as images of various activities which could have ethical and legal implications and contravene standards of professional medical conduct.