Facebook activity and views regarding E-Professionalism: a survey of pharmacy students in Qatar

Purpose: Technology has changed the nature of social communication.  One change is popularity of social media such as Facebook. The study objectives were to describe Qatar pharmacy students’ Facebook activity, to assess their views regarding their professional attitudes and behavior on Facebook, to determine their attitudes toward judging their character, their professional attitudes, and their employability based on their online personas.

Methods: Qatar University (QU) College of Pharmacy is the only pharmacy program in Qatar. The study objectives were addressed in a cross sectional survey of QU pharmacy students. The students completed a self-administered online anonymous survey designed based on previous surveys conducted in United States. Data was descriptively analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 18. QU Institutional Review Board ethics exemption approval was obtained.

Results: Over two weeks, 82 surveys were collected (82% response rate). Majority of respondents (89%) had Facebook accounts with 92% daily logging to their accounts.  Mean time spent on Facebook was 35 minutes per log in. Most respondents indicated that they have never posted information that they would not want an employer, a patient, or a faculty member to view (81%, 85% and 72% respectively). Yet 63% stated that the image they portray online through Facebook does not reflect who they are as future professionals. Moreover, most respondents believed that pharmacy students should not be accountable for their unprofessional behavior on Facebook (59%), that pharmacy students should not be held to higher standards than others regarding the image they portray on Facebook (54%) and that their profile information should not be considered when hiring (72%).

Conclusion: Facebook plays an important role in Qatar pharmacy students’ daily lives. The study results highlight the need for e-professionalism training aimed at increasing students’ awareness of the risks of social media to professional image and privacy.