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KMID : 1025620180210040020
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Korean Journal of Medical Ethics
2018 Volume.21 No. 4 p.20 ~ p.33
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Maintaining Professional Dignity in the Age of Social Media
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Kim Jung-A
Bhan Yoo-Wha
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Abstract
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Although the use of social media by doctors raises important issues concerning medical professionalism, the relevant professional bodies in South Korea have failed to issue clear guidelines on social media usage. The Korean Medical Association’s newly revised ethics guidelines do require members to maintain dignity while using social media, but the idea of “maintaining dignity” is far from clear, and its premodern con- notation prevents it from being reliably used in professional codes of conduct. The authors of this article examine the concept of maintaining dignity and conclude that once it is clarified and redefined it can and should be used as a viable ethical standard in a variety of contexts, including the use of social media. Social media’s unpredictability and uncontrollability, and the blurred distinction between professional/public and personal/private can be a threat to medical professionalism. In order to deal with this threat, the concept of dignity is important. We present three examples in which the dignity of medical professionals is under- mined and explain why these jeopardize public trust. We conclude that in order to maintain public trust the Korean Medical Association should provide more detailed guidelines on the use of social media by itsmembers.
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KEYWORD
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social media, social network service (SNS), dignity, medical professionalism
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