Documentation:Digital Tattoo Case Studies Project/Pharmacy/Research Process
Environmental Scan of Literature
Search Strategy
- Consult professional/trade literature (blogs, policy papers, forums) via Google, student network
- Search for journal articles via UBC Summon, Pubmed/Medline, EMBASE
- Use citation-chaining & relevant articles features in various databases to snowball
Search terms:
- HIPPA violation*; patient privacy; pharmac*; professionalism; misuse; social media; social networking; discipline; sanction; PIPEDA
Research Questions
- How do pharmacists use social media?
- What kind of behaviours do they exhibit?
- What do they use it for?
- What (ethical) issues or problems arise when pharmacists use social media?
- How is pharmacist use of social media related to issues surrounding patient privacy?
Findings
- Unlike teaching, focus of scholarly as well as the professional/grey literature seems to be on leveraging SNS for professional purposes, i.e. using social media for patient care, sharing information with each other
- There are 3 main models of social media use
- Dual citizenship (separating professional/private selves)
- Blended (using one account for professional & private purposes)
- Private only (don't use for professional purposes)
- Pharmacists are already very corseted/restricted/guided by their code of ethics, UBC Pharmacy's code of conduct, and patient privacy legislation. So it's mostly very clear when they've done something wrong with relation to patient privacy
- e.g. r/TalesfromthePharmacy explicitly has rules against violating HIPAA and giving medical advice.
- While pharmacists are as medical professionals held to higher moral standards by society, it's also not to the same degree/in the same way as teachers.
- It's less immediately obvious (or obvious at all) why having a bathing suit photo or a drinking photo of a pharmacist publicly online is as inappropriate as it would be for a teacher.
- Or is it?
Faculty Interviews
Laura conducted 4 interviews with Pharmacy faculty members.
These took the form of semi-structured interviews, with the following prompting questions:
- What are the biggest topics you think we should focus on with our cases? Eg: Patient confidentiality? Inappropriate use of social media?
- What are your biggest concerns regarding social media use as a pharmacist? Do you see any potential risks in using social media as a pharmacist?
- Can you remember a time where there was a “close-call” in relation to social media use at the clinic or with a student? Can you think of scenarios that could potentially happen at the clinic or during a student’s practicum?
- Has a student’s digital identity ever affected their hiring at the clinic or as a directed study student?
- Was there a time a patient has tried to connect with you on social media?
- How do you think a pharmacist’s use of social media differs from other professions? How about other healthcare professionals?
- Can a pharmacist’s use of social media be used to improve healthcare or benefit care service to their patients? What are the risks associated with that?
Interview notes are here.
Focus Group Discussions
(xf: teacher candidate fgd questions)
One pilot focus group discussion was conducted at the end of May 2019. Due to logistical constraints imposed by the nature of Pharmacy students`summer term, we decided to make use of our findings from the literature searches and this initial small group discussion to direct and frame 3-4 case studies. These case studies will then be piloted in September 2019 and refined using feedback from then.
Discussion Questions (Students)
Meeting notes can be found here
- We just want to try and understand your behaviour online. Of these apps, what do you use most? Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, Reddit [Read out loud once through, then one by one and ask them to put their hands up)
- Ask them if there's anything we've missed out.
- Can you talk a little more about what you use them for? How intensely you use them?
- How do you engage with entities/ groups/interests you have outside of pharmacy, and have you ever found this to surprisingly intersect with your professional life?
- Do you or have you considered using them for professional purposes?
- (Preamble) We all know the benefits of social media, so we're now going to move onto discussing the not-so-great side of things. What kind of stories can you share about a negative consequence from using social media that you've experienced or heard about?
- Have you ever been nervous about someone commenting on your picture/post or someone taking a picture of you when you were out? Why?
- Thinking about what we've talked about so far, have these resulted in you, in the past, changing the way you use social media or stopping the use of an app?
- If anyone raises the idea of using SNS for professional purposes --> Ask if they want to/plan to do so, and when they plan to, any obstacles or uncertainties. OR lead into it with "Have you heard of any pharmacists on social media?"
- Anything stories touching on professional boundaries & negotiating them that you've heard?
- We're trying to make the case studies timely and relevant so it'd be helpful if you could share what kind of hot topic issues have you encountered online
- Do you see anything current that could tie into ourselves presenting in the wrong way?
- For example, anti-vaxx movement, Trump, things going on in the Pharmacy department
- What kinds of activities -- posted on social media, conducted on social media or not - would undermine YOUR trust in your own pharmacist/health professional?
Selecting Scholarly Materials for Resources Page
While multimedia resources were incorporated into the Case Studies and Resources Page - including images, blog posts, news articles, and Reddit Pages - several scholarly materials were also included. The inclusion of these materials aligned with one of the project's objectives, that being, to provide student pharmacists with official/scholarly/critical materials to help inform their digital identities.
Upon deliberation, the research team decided that all scholarly materials should be open access. This not only embodies the spirit of openness characteristic of the Digital Tattoo project as a whole, but also makes the project more conducive to adaptability, as those external to UBC can access the materials and apply them to their own contexts.