Social Media Policy for Surgical Technology

In an allied health program, managing the use of social media and students can be a bit of a chore. There are many things to consider when providing an environment of teamwork and collaboration but also professionalism. Students in my program get very excited about their education and feel empowered by the role they play. This excitement is hard to keep in and not share. In todays society, sharing on social media is the norm, however, with patient privacy this has to be closely monitored. A social media policy can help guide students in the right direction. 

 The following is my example of a social media policy for my surgical technology program. The college has its own social media policy and my policy will support it but adds a more specific take for my program. This policy will be included in my program handbook.

Social Media Policy
Purpose

To communicate potential problems and liabilities associated with the use of social media while attending the NIC Surgical Technology Program.

Definitions

Social media – websites that users may join, view, and/or post information to, including but not limited to blogs, chat rooms and social media sites including but not limited to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Flickr.


Policy

1. Students or faculty may not share confidential information in violation of HIPAA or FERPA related to NIC business on any social media outlet, including but not limited to, personnel actions, internal investigations or patient/student/faculty information. Confidential information includes, the sharing of photos or videos even if the names of patients, students, faculty, or employees of clinical sites are not used.

2. Students and faculty assume responsibility for information they post on social media sites, including but not limited to dialogue, medical advice, photographs, and videos.

3. Students should be discrete when sharing information, understanding that such information may be observed by patients, faculty, students and potential employers.

4. Students should not post negative or defamatory information about other students, faculty or clinical sites through which they rotate.

5. Students should not represent or imply that they are expressing the opinion of North Idaho College, the Surgical Technology program, other institutions, or clinical sites through which they rotate.

6. Students should not misrepresent their qualifications or refer to themselves as a provider and post healthcare advice.

7. Students should be aware that comments and posts made on social media sites can be retrieved years after they are posted, even if the post has been deleted.

8. Employers may monitor and share information they find posted on social media sites. Content posted that is unprofessional may negatively impact job opportunities for graduates.

9. Students are not to initiate or accept friend-requests (or anything similar) from faculty or clinical staff, patients or doctor’s.


10. Social media use should be used at the appropriate time and place, so as not to interfere with classroom instruction/learning or clinical experience.


References


Prafull (n.d.). 5 Terrific examples of company social media policies. Retrieved from  http://blog.hirerabbit.com/5-terrific-examples-of-company-social-media-policies/
O'Sullivan, E., Cutts, E., Kavikondala, S., Salcedo, A., D'Souza, K., Hernandez-Torre, M., ... & Last, J. (2017). Social media in health science education: an international survey. JMIR medical education, 3(1).
http://www.nic.edu/modules/images/websites/107/file/NIC%20Communication%20Guidelines.pdf. Retrieved on October 30, 2017.

Azoury, S. C., Bliss, L. A., Ward, W. H., Liepert, A. E., & Leichtle, S. W. (2015). Surgeons and social media: Threat to professionalism or an essential part of contemporary surgical practice?. Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons, 100(8), 45-51.

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