What’s on your Facebook page? Study says many new doctors post unprofessional content

What’s posted on your Facebook page? It might be time for some self-editing, as a new study found that many new doctors are posting unprofessional content on the social media site.

In fact, researchers found that 40% of 201 public profiles of young urologists had posts that they described as unprofessional or had potentially objectionable content, including 13% that reflected “explicitly unprofessional behavior.” In those cases, posts included depictions of intoxication, uncensored profanity, unlawful behavior and confidential patient information, according to the study published in BJU International. What’s more, the content was self-authored in 82% of those categories.

Researchers from the urology section at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire searched Facebook for the public accounts of all urologists who graduated from U.S. residency programs in 2015. Many contained self-authored content that was considered unprofessional based on the guidelines of three physicians’ organizations, the American Urological Association, the American Medical Association and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. When it came to unprofessional content, it didn’t make a difference whether the new doctors were men or women or held an M.D. or D.O. degree.

"As a new generation of social media-savvy physicians graduates from residency and enters practice, these findings raise concern about their professional behavior, online and offline," the study’s lead author, Kevin Koo, M.D., said in an announcement.  

RELATED: Two practice challenges: Websites and social media

Physicians should educate themselves and follow social media guidelines to stay out of trouble, as FiercePracticeManagement previously reported. Not only should physicians be concerned about protecting patient privacy on social media, but they also need to be sure they present a professional image in the online world.