ASHP Intersections Summer 2010 - 8

cover story

Pharmacy in the Age

of Social Networking

Where Are the Boundaries?

LIKE OTHER CLINICIANS, pharmacists use online social networking to maintain friendships, expand their professional relationships, and even keep in touch with patients. But as more and more clinicians try their hand at blogging or setting up profiles on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, professional and personal lines can become blurred. Maintaining the right balance requires finesse and ultimately depends on two things: your comfort level and your judgment.
If You Post It, You Publish It The first thing to remember about social networking is that once you post something to a site, whether a blog, a bulletin board, a profile, or a page, it is published. That means that this content is fair game for viewers to judge as they see fit. Considering that your viewers may be colleagues, potential employers, or supervisors, you should always be judicious about whom you quote, the kinds of political and religious opinions you post, the types of photos you publish, and the language you use, according to Marni Lun, Pharm.D., M.B.A, director of ASHP’s Pharmacy Student Forum. “Assume that people are going to Google you,” she said. “What is going to pop up first? Facebook? A blog? What does that say about you?” Most social networks like Facebook allow users to adjust their privacy settings so that only friends or certain groups of people can see their pages. Although that is a useful feature, you can’t control how other people use the service, Lun added. “Check your friends’ pages and see what’s visible. When in doubt, be a tad more cautious than you otherwise would be with what you allow them to share about you.” Greg Leatham, M.B.A., ASHP’s director of Web Communications, agrees. “Social networking is a great way to share information, learn new things, and make contacts with like-minded peers, but make sure you understand what is personal and what is professional,” he said. “I caution people, especially students, who are often a little more free with what they put on their site, that it doesn’t matter where you plan to work,” said Leatham. “Human Resources is going to Google you as part of their recruiting process.” The same goes for pharmacy directors, residency directors, division chairs, and other administrators who can influence your career and chances of future employment. Pharmacy students are especially vulnerable to being their own worst enemy when it comes to online social networking. In a study published in the November 2009 issue of the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, researchers found that incoming first-year pharmacy students used Facebook in much the same way they did as undergraduates. “This showed us that a lot of students aren’t aware of the issues involved in using social networks once they get to a professional school,” said Jeff Cain, Ed.D., M.S., director of

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists

ASHP Intersections Summer 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASHP Intersections Summer 2010