Social media
‘Like’ ethics S
Social networking can be fun to use in a personal capacity, as well as a useful business tool. But it is important to be aware of some of the complications it can cause, says Angela Harkins
ocial networking has come a long way. Just five years ago, Facebook was a website mainly
used by students and young graduates, while few people had even heard of Twitter. But, as time went on, both sites widened their reach, and more such sites have appeared, attracting more users who use them for personal and business purposes. Dental professionals should
be aware of the pitfalls of using social media and make sure you are using it in the right way.
Friendships and following The ease with which you can make contact with people online can lead some patients to approach a dental profes- sional even though they wouldn’t dream of contacting them outside the dental prac- tice in the ‘real’ world. While it may be flattering
to receive a friendship request or be followed by a patient, it is important not to accept these advances as you may be blurring the dental profes- sional-patient boundary and could soon regret it.
The Dental Defence Union is
aware of cases where patients have made romantic advances to dental professionals via social networking sites and it can be far more difficult to rebuff these advances if they have already inadvertently encouraged the behaviour by communicating online. If a patient does try to make contact, it is best to explain that you cannot accept their request due to your ethical duty to maintain a purely professional relationship.
Privacy settings If a patient has managed to find you online then you may want to consider what privacy se t t in g s you have in place on your social networking accounts. Some dental profes- sionals choose to make their accounts totally private while others post on sites such as
“Think carefully before discussing colleagues, posting amusing tales about a patient or sharing a private joke online”
32 Scottish Dental magazine
Twitter under a pseudonym and keep their real identity secret.
Whichever privacy settings
you choose, it is important to consider how you would feel if a patient saw the content that is publicly available. You may be happy for extended family and friends to see photos of your latest holiday or a night out, but do you want any of your patients to be able to access this information?
Be careful what you post Nowadays, many people take to social networking sites to have a seemingly harmless and private rant about some- thing that has annoyed them in their day. However, it can be dangerous to assume that this is totally private. Think carefully before discussing colleagues, posting amusing tales about a patient or sharing a private joke online. Even if you think you have removed
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