Residency candidates and social media

If you are a residency-bound student graduating in 2014, you are probably thinking about the contents of your curriculum vitae (CV) with some frequency.  There are numerous places where you can get feedback on your CV including the USHP CV Review Night (Sept. 23, 2013) and the ACCP CV Review Service.  While you have probably heard all of the stories about typos and irrelevant information which have appeared on "bad" residency candidate CVs, in the grand scheme of things, this is nothing compared to what could potentially be discovered about you via social media.  Consider the possibility that what you might consider typical off-work behavior might be poorly perceived by the workplace environment when an attempt is being made to judge your character or values.  As evidenced through timeline posts, comments, photographs, "likes" of companies/organizations/events, residency program directors might discover explicit language, racist/sexist/ageist remarks, evidence of substance abuse, behavior which is in poor taste, etc.  Consider the following.  In a survey conducted in 2009, 75 - 90% of residency program directors agreed or strongly agreed to the following statements:

• "Information published voluntarily online in social media should be "fair game" for judgments on character, attitudes, and professionalism."
• "Residency candidates should be accountable for unprofessional behavior discovered through social media postings."
• "Professional students should be held to higher standards than other students regarding the image they portray on social media."
• "The attitudes and behaviors displayed (e.g., comments, photos) on social media reflect upon an individual as a health care provider."
• "It is acceptable for a pharmacy residency program director to review a prospective residency candidate's social media profile."
• "If a pharmacy residency program director chooses to review a residency candidate's social media profile, it is acceptable for that information to be used when considering the candidate's suitability."

While social media might seem like a great place to showcase yourself, consider that in the same survey, of the small number residency program directors who viewed pharmacy residency candidates social media information, 52% discovered issues revealing an unprofessional attitude.  This does not mean that pharmacy residency candidates are unprofessional.  It just means that social media allowed a view into people's private or personal lives which reflected on their professional lives.  If you would not like to openly discuss your leisure time activities with an employer, make sure that "conversation" is not happening without your consent via social media.

Cain J, Scott DR, Smith K. Am J Health-Syst Pharm. 2010;67:1635-9.