Department of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) at the Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad (CONICET Universidad Nacional de Córdoba), Córdoba, Argentina.
Med Educ. 2024 Oct;58(10):1192-1204. doi: 10.1111/medu.15384. Epub 2024 Apr 10.
When using social media, physicians are encouraged and trained to maintain separate professional and personal identities. However, this separation is difficult and even undesirable, as the blurring of personal and professional online presence can influence patient trust. Thus, it is necessary to develop policies and educational resources that are more responsive to the blurring of personal and professional boundaries on social media. This study aims to provide an understanding of how physicians present themselves holistically online to inform such policies and resources.
Twenty-eight US-based physicians who use social media were interviewed. Participants were asked to describe how and why they use social media, specifically Twitter (rebranded as 'X' in 2023). Interviews were complemented by data from the participants' Twitter profiles. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis guided by Goffman's dramaturgical model. This model uses the metaphor of a stage to characterise how individuals attempt to control the aspects of the identities-or faces-they display during social interactions.
The participants presented six faces, which included professionally focused faces (e.g. networker) and those more personal in nature (e.g. human). The participants crafted and maintained these faces through discursive choices in their tweets and profiles, which were motivated by their audience's perceptions. We identified overlaps and tensions at the intersections of these faces, which posed professional and personal challenges for participants.
Physicians strategically emphasise their more professional or personal faces according to their objectives and motivations in different communicative situations, and tailor their language and content to better reach their target audiences. While tensions arise between these faces, physicians still prefer to project a rounded, integral image of themselves on social media. This suggests a need to reconsider social media policies and related educational initiatives to better align with the realities of these digital environments.
在使用社交媒体时，医生被鼓励并接受培训以保持专业和个人身份的分离。然而，这种分离是困难的，甚至是不可取的，因为个人和专业在线形象的模糊会影响患者的信任。因此，有必要制定更能响应社交媒体上个人和专业边界模糊的政策和教育资源。本研究旨在全面了解医生如何在线展示自己，以为此类政策和资源提供信息。
对 28 名使用社交媒体的美国医生进行了访谈。要求参与者描述他们如何以及为何使用社交媒体，特别是 Twitter（2023 年更名为 'X'）。访谈内容由参与者的 Twitter 个人资料中的数据补充。使用 Goffman 的戏剧模型指导的反思性主题分析对数据进行分析。该模型使用舞台的隐喻来描述个人在社会互动中试图控制他们展示的身份或面孔的各个方面。
参与者展示了六个面孔，包括专注于专业的面孔（如网络参与者）和更个人化的面孔（如人类）。参与者通过在推文和个人资料中做出的话语选择来塑造和维护这些面孔，这些选择是由他们的受众感知所驱动的。我们在这些面孔的交叉点发现了重叠和紧张，这给参与者带来了专业和个人的挑战。
医生根据他们在不同沟通情境中的目标和动机，有策略地强调他们更专业或个人的面孔，并调整他们的语言和内容，以更好地接触到他们的目标受众。虽然这些面孔之间存在紧张关系，但医生仍然更愿意在社交媒体上展示自己全面、完整的形象。这表明需要重新考虑社交媒体政策和相关教育举措，以更好地适应这些数字环境的现实。
