In a short amount of time one thing has become clear: as a future physician, you are a public figure. Like it or not, you are being watched and judged. So why is this so scary? The answer: social media.
As a 24 year old student, it should be no surprise that I am a regular (if not frequent) user of social media. My online presence extends beyond a few personal contacts on Skype and Facebook, however. I am also a singer-songwriter. Like most indie musicians, I have made my move with the music industry to the world of cyberspace. I blog and use Twitter to connect with friends and get my music heard. I’m on MySpace, ilike, YouTube, Tumblr, Sonicbids… the list goes on. To some respect, this makes me a pro in the area of social media. So what does this mean for my medical career? So far, the message is that I should be scared and extremely careful. One wrong picture (perhaps even lyric?) and my medical reputation could be shot. While I am not naive to the fact that the internet can be a scary and dangerous place, this topic always leaves me asking one thing: what do I have to hide?
I like to go dancing with my girlfriends. I drink alcohol. I party. I sing and play guitar. I tried smoking cigarettes when I was 16. Facebook. Facebook. Facebook. I’ve also been an A student my entire life. I like to travel and spend time with my family. I teach BodyFlow. I enjoy reading and I speak 3 languages. Woops - no one posted any of those things online. I guess this alludes to the big problem with social media. The fact is that one’s online presence is usually extremely polar; a mere glimpse of one’s social life and nothing else.
Like most medical students (I assume), one reason I trusted medicine to be THE career choice for me was that I truly believe myself to be a “good person”. Simply put, I love people and I want to help them. It’s cliché but true. So what does a picture of me with a beer in hand have to do with it? Yes, I respect the role physicians, lawyers, teachers etc. play in society. I understand that a certain amount of social responsibility comes with certain careers. But to feel threatened that my CaRMS match will be affected by my Facebook profile seems ludicrous. I do not think a reputation of sainthood should be the goal in the medical profession. Few people relate to this. In my ideal world, “normal” everyday life experiences are what will allow me to better relate to future patients, in turn allowing them to relate to me. BOOM. The qualities of an open and honest patient-physician relationship are born. Or so I think…
There is so much to say here. I guess my point is that as a physician (and medical student), shouldn’t the most important thing be that you take your job seriously and keep your patient’s best interest in mind? Shouldn’t this be enough to satisfy your role as a “professional”? For years now my generation has been warned about social media. We’re bombarded with stories of people losing jobs or flunking interviews because of their online image. The whole thing is so hotly contested that it has left me paranoid. Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe it’ll help me to be extra careful when posting anything online. It also saddens me though. I can be goofy. I sometimes like to go out without brushing my hair. I wear funky shoes. At the end of the day, I’d like to think that these things would not deter from my reputation as a professional. That they would add quality to me as a person, help me to become an expert in the human condition, and in sum: help me help others. I hope I am right.
