MPAS Guidelines, Use of Electronic Communication and Social Media

Background:

This document is intended to provide Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) students with an awareness of, and guidelines for, professional and responsible use of social media and electronic communication devices within academic settings (e.g. classroom, lab, small group) and while engaged in clinical practice courses.

The use of electronic media is integrated into our culture and is a regular part of everyday life. These tools have widespread use in both clinical and academic environments as mechanisms to communicate efficiently with other health professionals and patients, for knowledge sharing, and educational purposes. At the same time, we must also acknowledge the challenges associated with differentiating the boundaries between the professional lives and private lives of individuals.

For the purpose of these guidelines, electronic communication and social media encompass interaction between instructors and students, students and patients, students and other health professionals, and between students. It includes, but is not limited to, the use of:

· Mobile electronic communication devices for sending and receiving messages or information (e.g. smart phones, iPads/tablets, laptops, smart pens, etc.)

· Social media (i.e. web-based forums where users interact online and share information) such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Wikipedia, Google+, LinkedIn, etc., including emails, blogs, file transfers &/or discussion groups.

Maintaining professional boundaries is an important aspect of professionalism. However, how to function professionally within an evolving environment of electronic communication and social media can be confusing or unclear when interaction is so readily available, and rules of engagement are not well defined. One can unintentionally violate their professional Code of Ethics or breach established Standards of Practice. However, these breaches can be very serious, often manifesting as a breach of confidentiality and may carry academic and non-academic consequences.

While the principle of confidentiality is well defined and legally enshrined regarding privacy of personal health information, concerns also exist with interaction among students and between students and instructors in academic and clinical settings.

In addition to abiding by all health authority/facility standards regarding privacy and confidentiality, all students are also expected to be professional with both their personal and professional social media postings, and specifically to abide by guiding principles. You are an ambassador of the University and the MPAS program as well as of the PA profession overall, and you are expected to maintain appropriate ethical standards in both your personal and professional lives. Guiding principles for this topic can be gleaned from various overarching legal and ethical documents that define professional expectations with which MPAS students are expected to comply. This includes the MPAS Behaviours and Expectations (Professionalism), Canadian Association of Physician Assistants Code of Ethics, the Health Information Protection Act (HIPA), the University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine PGME Social Media Guidelines, the U of S Academic Integrity and Student Misconduct Regulations, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan Regulatory Bylaws (Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct), with special note of the Saskatchewan Academic Health Sciences Network Provincial Clinical Placement Agreement, especially Schedule N: Mobile Device Usage.

Guidelines for responsible use of communicating through connected electronic systems, including the use of Social Media sites:

1. When communicating electronically, conduct yourself as you would in a face-to-face environment (i.e., with a professional demeanor, and with careful attention to proper etiquette and language).
2. Before engaging in online communication or posting photos, ask yourself if such photos would reflect positively on you or on the profession of Physician Assistant. If not, refrain from doing so. This includes accessing or distributing objectionable or illegal material.
3. Never criticize health care professionals, patients/clients (even if unnamed), clinical and/or academic instructors or classmates online. Should you need to address concerns, formal avenues are available via contact with the MPAS Student Experience Coordinator.
4. Consider that all information sent or posted electronically can remain permanent and that it may be accessible to the public even after it is deleted – no security system is perfect. Also, keep in mind it is always possible to find the author of information posted in electronic interactions and forums.
5. Ensure that all privacy settings in your social media and other electronic communication account(s) are set at a high level.
6. Manage your personal information by monitoring content related to your own person - ask others to remove undesirable content relating to you, and request that your name be “tagged” only with your permission.
7. Alert professional colleagues of inappropriate content on social media sites relating to them.
8. Err on the side of caution with respect to relationships. Do not initiate or accept invitations to be online “friends” with patients / clients, or their families.
9. Understand that posting information or discussing confidential details about patients / clients, colleagues, employees or workplace practices, even if unnamed or seemingly anecdotal, is a breach of confidentiality.
10. When interacting in professionally oriented social media, clearly identify yourself as an MPAS student.
11. Be aware that online forums in which clinical advice is posted may be deemed a therapeutic relationship, and an unintended “duty of care” may be established, for which you may be held responsible.
12. If you become aware of a patient’s personal information from online sites or other sources, this should not be entered into their patient records without their permission.
13. Do not exchange private emails (nor email addresses), text messages, or photos with patients.
14. If you must communicate by email with patients / clients while on clinical placement, do not use your “usask” email address, or other personal email address. Use an official clinic or Health Authority address, if available.
15. On personal social media sites, do not portray yourself as formally representing the viewpoint of the Master of Physician Assistant Studies Program and/or the University of Saskatchewan.
16. If you are authorized to use electronic devices, including networked computers owned by clinical placement facilities (clinics, health authorities), you are responsible for protecting the confidentiality and integrity of the information stored on such devices by following the Information Technology policies and procedures of the facility. This includes, but is not limited to the following:
    1. You are responsible for any activity carried out under the user account assigned to you while on placement.
    2. You are prohibited from accessing or distributing illegal or objectionable material on facility devices during clinical placements.
    3. You must report unacceptable internet use immediately to your supervisor.
    4. The clinical facility has the right to monitor all internet activity on its network and access the contents of all files stored on its systems and all messages transmitted through its information technology infrastructure. If an external investigation occurs, you must comply fully with such investigation procedures.

Use of Portable Electronic Devices:

1. Be aware of, and ask about, individual workplace and department policy on Electronic Devices at each clinical site and follow that policy while on placement. Students are generally allowed to use their cellular phones or other portable devices only for learning purposes during clinical placements.
2. Be aware that portable electronic devices may be a source of infection. Students using their own devices are responsible for cleaning and disinfecting. If this is not possible, those devices should not be used.
3. Do not, at any time, use your personal electronic device to conduct personal matters during work hours, unless specifically arranged with your clinical instructor. Use designated breaks to attend to personal matters in non-clinical spaces.
4. Do not allow your electronic device to interfere with patient care at any time. This includes noises that alert you to incoming data.
5. Do not take patient photos, audio recordings, or videos without the knowledge or express written consent of the patient/client and the clinical supervisor. Do not take photos in the clinical setting without permission of staff members in the photo and the facility at which it is being taken.
6. Do not collect or store any identifiable patient information or photos at the clinical facility on a personal electronic device used outside of the clinical facility.
   1. Some clinical sites and supervising physicians utilize approved transcription programs on personal devices with safeguards in place to protect patient information and may request an MPAS student to do the same. In this case, the MPAS student would be permitted to utilize the approved program for transcription services according to site policies, and under the direction of the clinical site and supervising physician.
7. Devices that are owned and stored in the facility may be acceptable for the purpose of collecting and/or storing identifiable patient information or photos, following clinical site policies.
8. Any photo/video or audio recordings taken during academic activities (lectures, labs, etc.) must have the permission of the instructor prior to any recording. If other individuals are included in the recordings (e.g. other students), these individuals must also give permission. These recordings are only to be used for educational use of the student during the MPAS program. Students may not post or share materials without the permission of the instructor.

Disciplinary Action:

• Violations of these guidelines may result in disciplinary action as set out in the USask Student Academic Misconduct Regulations.
• Disclosing confidential information breaches workplace privacy policies and may result in severe disciplinary consequences from the MPAS Program, the Health Authority, and/or the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan.
• Inappropriate use of electronic media may result in criminal charges or other legal action according to applicable federal and provincial laws.

Reporting Breaches

Should you become aware of a breach of these guidelines, you must promptly report it to MPAS Faculty and/or Academic Director.

Contact:

Gayathri Manoharan, Manager – MPAS Program

Gayathri.manoharan@usask.ca