Pharmacy students’ perceptions and attitudes towards professionalism on social media: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: The objective of the study was to determine the perceptions and attitudes toward social media professionalism among pharmacy students according to gender and program year. Methods: An online survey was sent to pharmacy students. The survey contained two sections: a demographics section, and assessment of attitudes toward professionalism and accountability in using social media. Results: About 30% of female students disagreed on using social media for hiring decisions compared to 20% of male students. About 41% of female students agreed on the importance of editing social media profiles prior to applying for jobs, compared to 38% of male students. Male students (11%) agreed more than female students (4%) on taking pictures of others without their knowledge. Fifth-year students (85%) disagreed the most on posting descriptions of how to break school or job rules. Conclusion: Gender and program years have impacted the perceptions and attitudes toward social media professionalism.

Future healthcare providers and professionalism on social media: a cross-sectional study

“…Most of the students in this study did not receive any form of structured education on the use of social media professionally during their university studies. This is compliant with the findings of a study from Saudi Arabia where most students did not receive classes related to social media professionalism [ 32 ]. We detected no significant differences in the level of awareness on social media professionalism between pre-clinical and clinical students of all faculties and majors ( p value = 0.907).…”

“…This finding is also supported by numerous studies [5,8,10,21,22,[33][34][35][36][37][38] which emphasized the importance of structured education and the implementation of guidelines on the professional usage of social media among healthcare students and professionals. In the Arab and Middle Eastern region, studies on healthcare students also supported the need to develop clear guidelines delineating the safe and professional use of social media by future healthcare providers [32,[39][40][41].…”