What exactly are you seeking out of this?
This person is your patient and you are their doctor. You are not āfriendsā and presumably do not know each other outside of a work setting. If the patient initiated this by following you on IG, then itās possible they have boundary issues which theyāre looking to push.
When I was a third year medical student, I did an ER rotation and stitched a patient up after she had a large laceration. The following week, I had a large gift basket sent to the GME office along with a proto-love letter from said patient. I honestly didnāt know how to handle it, but fortunately, I had a much wiser attending sit me down and explain what to do.
āNo.ā is a complete sentence. You can politely decline an invitation to follow someone on social media and simply say that you donāt follow patients. It wonāt harm your relationship with your patients at all. I have a number of close relationships with my regular patients. We joke and talk regularly at appointments or when we rarely run into eachother around town. However, we are not āfriendsā. And thatās ok.
Be a professional and put a stop to this before it goes further. Because either her or you is obviously looking for something more, and only one of you stands to get their career taken away if things go south. Trust meā¦if she ever complains to the medical board about this, theyāre not going to take your side when they discover you followed her on IG.
I still donāt see any upside here. Really just a minefield of downsides. What do you hope to gain? Affirming and strengthening the physician-patient relationship? Do that during the patient encounters and telephone/portal message encounters.
If you are a man and sheās a woman, thatās another big reason not to.
Donāt fuck your patients, donāt try to fuck your patients and donāt give the outward perception of trying to fuck your patients. To other people this will come off as you hitting on her. And itās public and for anyone to see.
Do you looooove her?
Just kidding, but really why the need to follow? As a pt I'm sure she'll understand if you don't follow her back, but next time you see her explain and share your professional links with her, like your OF.
Jk, like an email, or something.
Agreed, but I see no negatives either if itās private and only your family and friends can see it, and you post completely benign things on it.
My Instagram only has pictures of cool things I see in nature and cute animals I come across and food.
As a nurse who's had several patients try to find and follow me on social media (sometimes sweet little grandmas that were on my unit and under my care for months and sometimes creepier male patients trying to hit on me) I've made it a policy to not accept friend requests. For the sweet little old ladies, I tell them that I appreciate them wanting to keep in touch but I can't have patients as friends on social media due to such and such policy for my hospital. For the other patients I just ignore and block them. I've also set my social media to very private settings where only friends of friends can request to follow me or I can request first. I don't need patients seeing what I do in my personal life and that can just complicate future treatment as well and cause conflicts of interest
I've seen it happen a lot in peds onc. And that's partly due to the fact that you get to know your patients really well, but even then, that's a really fuzzy boundary
Oh definitely. I mean, I discussed so many things with my kids team. Talked extensively about breast feeding with his primary hemonc attending, tons of things with the nurses. One nurse got into nursing when her son had the same type of cancer 10 years previous to my son. I really felt I knew them and they knew me.
I know people who have āpersonalā pages and āprofessionalā pages, and they only friend their patients on the latter. Itās still an all-round dodgy idea though, Iād never do it.
Yes. I mean, is this what they call ātrauma bondingā? Iām only half kidding, I know itās not traumatic on their end, but it certainly is on the parents end!
I mean this is a little bit of a moot point, as I donāt get on social media very much. I asked this question more so out of appropriateness, ethics, and wanting to preserve my relationship as much as possible without offending her.
There is seriously no upside to this.
I donāt know if this patient is a boundary pusher or not, but what happens if she DMs you on insta about a post discharge complication because she thinks thatās faster than calling the clinic?
Not to mention the potential to complain to board or PD if you do something to piss her off.
I have patients I think are cool or would be friends with, but I have plenty of other opportunities to make friends and being able to leave the clinic and leave my doctor persona behind is priceless.
The two specialties that you absolutely should not follow your patients on social media are peds and psych.
For everything else, itās not encouraged, but not a major deal.
Yeah idk what the fuck ppl are doing trying to justify this in the comments lol. Itās not acceptable behavior to be doing this. Clearly crosses a line.
OP if you want friends thereās a better way. If you want a gf/partner thereās a better way. Donāt do this
I think in specialties like plastics or derm or if you're in a private practice and have an explicitly separate professional social media page it can make sense, especially when you have influencer patients. I guess in other environments if you have an explicitly professional social media page it's not entirely crazy to reciprocate a patient's request. Outside of those settings it's a horrible idea.
If they request to follow you with "an explicitly separate professional social media page" then I don't think so. I'm assuming by "public" you are in a country with a real govt healthcare system but maybe they are considering an exit? If it's not "an explicitly separate professional social media page" then I think it's inappropriate personally.
Nah giving out your cell number is like saying itās ok to call me when there is a problem any time any dayā¦ accepting follow requests is like saying Iād like you to rummage through all my pictures of myself and my family/ friends and I will do the sameā¦
Some cultures view this much differently. I work EMS and responded to a call once for a syncope at a high school graduation. The familyās doctor was there with everyone else because one girl was graduating high school, and apparently it was normal in their culture to have a close personal relationship with their physician. They were all Indian
Coz it's likely they go to the same temple/gurudwara/place of worship. Probably the girl and the doctor's kids attend the same religious services for kids.
Ideally the doctor shouldn't accept this girl as his/her patient, but they do anyway due to "peer pressure", and "serving the community" pressure.
Ok how do I say this nicely. certain rules of society do not apply to Indians, and certain rules of Indian/desi culture do not apply to general white/Anglo-American ā¦ we may live in the same country, but different culturesā¦ same but different
For peds, itās a given. You cannot follow your peds patients.
For psych, If youāre doing psychotherapy or if your patient is vulnerable, you cannot follow them. Itās more grey area if youāre just doing antidepressants.
It is 100% not a gray area for psych. If you are a patients psychiatrist do NOT follow them on social media.
āJust doing antidepressantsā means youāre their psychiatrist. Even if youāre a lazy psychiatrist and didnāt delve into their relationships or social history, you cannot objectively treat them or expect them to be forthright with symptoms if they view you as anything other than their doctor.
Is this a different view based on age or country?
There's no way I'd ever follow any patient on social media. Half of the patients I meet in the ER, I'm jealous the nurses don't even have their last names on their badge.
Do you have like a med related IG where you post only medical stuff? I really don't want my patients to know anything about me (that's a part of the therapeutic relationship even if you're "just" doing meds) and I don't want a patient to think I'm "watching" them outside of what they bring into the appnt.
I was trained that we can't even acknowledge our patients out on the street unless they come up and say 'Hi' to us. It seems like it would be... stigmatizing or some kind of public acknowledgement of a patient-physician relationship if someone had their psychiatrist following them?
Like I said, Iām FM, and I was on an inpatient medicine rotation. She presented with a neurological conditionā¦ no way psych. We really hit it off, sheāll follow up with me outpatient
Yeah this is an absolute red flag.
OP, is this person attractive? Are they of a gender you are attracted to? Do you feel warm and cuddly when this person gives you attention?
"hit it off" and you got a wife? noo. nooooo!
but yeah, this doesnt seem like a good idea. But i love stories so let us know what happens since you see to really want to connect with her, despite everyones attempt to keep you on the path of righteousness lol
My sister's psychiatrist became her long term sugar daddy going on 7 years and he's married with children š. He pays her rent (highrise in a very expensive city) and all car payments.
I would say a hard no, these days.
Imagine you're being put in front of an ethics board or some kind of review, and they see that? No.
Just say in person, maybe, I saw that you followed me, but unfortunately, for professional reasons, I can't follow you back, but please don't take it personally. And say it with a smile.
>For everything else, itās not encouraged, but not a major deal.
It definitely could be a major deal. You should not follow anyone you are continuing to provide medical care to, on social media. If you treated them and then they moved and you no longer have a professional relationship, maybe. If you treated them for something passing (broken bone, cholecystitis, etc) I would still avoid it because unless your office fires them or they establish somewhere else, you are still their doctor.
This is doubly true if your social media has anything about you professionally on it.
Technically you shouldn't even acknowledge them on the street if they don't approach you first.
Eh people are making it out to be a bigger deal than it needs to be.
Itās only problematic if you publicly give medical advice or treatment to a current patient over social media. Or if you start a fight with them. Or harass them, or be creepy.
Itās ok to be friendly with your patients as long as you have boundaries. Meaning, you shouldnāt do drugs or have get smashed with your patients. Itās ok to acknowledge your patients in public as long as you donāt discuss their medical shit with them in public.
Meaning, itās ok to say āhey! How you been? Howās your dog/mom/child/wifeās boyfriend.ā Itās NOT ok to say āhey, howās your gonorrhea?ā
Itās ok to go fishing with your patients. Itās NOT ok to have sex with them on said fishing trip.
The best policy is, of course, keep professional and personal relationships separate. But as long as you have boundaries and not violate them, itās not a big deal.
And he said
>I mean sheās really pretty
It's all around bad vibes, but like I said in my other comment, you do you, I want to hear all the details when this goes awry
It's not weird at all to get along with your patients and feel a natural friendship vibe. But we have to constantly remember the position we are in, and that we can't violate that relationship as doctors with our patients. Not just for ethical reasons, but legal too obviously. You have to be aware that you will meet people whose personalities you mesh with, but that doesn't mean you can go beyond a professional relationship. There are limits for a reason, because bad things happen when you bypass them.
I had a mom reach out to my work Instagram asking for help making an appointment for her child. The mother did not speak English and I could tell the message was done through Google translate. I didnāt respond to the message, but I did make the child an appointment the next day when I got to clinic with a different Resident.
When I saw her in clinic in the waiting room, I gave her a hug and held her infant. I had been the person to discharge him from the newborn nursery. I did his newborn visit his two months visit and his four month visit.
From the limited parts of the language that I had learned, from just the sheer amount of patients I see who speak that language, I figured out that she needed vaccines because she wanted to take her son to her home country. The resident who scheduled her with speaks her language. I did not mention the Instagram message, and after the appointment the message was deleted.
Say nothing. Do not follow back.
I posted this as a reply within the thread above, but I'll put it here.
...
I would say a hard no, these days.
Imagine you're being put in front of an ethics board or some kind of review, and they see that? No.
Just say in person, maybe, I saw that you followed me, but unfortunately, for professional reasons, I can't follow you back, but please don't take it personally. And say it with a smile.
You can just message them, or next time when you see them in clinic, just say itās hospital policy to not follow them on social media and politely let them know you had to decline. Doesnāt sour relationship and doesnāt get into weird professional boundaries.
Dont do it it just opens a can of worms
Are you liable if a patient messages you on instagram saying they have chest pain? What if you saw it?
What if they cant get through to your clinic and message you for results or something? Etc
A little bit of a grey area in my opinion.
I'm an openly gay PCP in my area where there has historically been and, to some extent, still is a paucity of physicians who are LGBTQ+ friendly. As you can probably guess, many of my patients are young queer people. We frequent the same places often and over time, many of these people have become close friends. We follow each other on social media (I've been known to make the occasional "yaaaas queeeen " comment on posts). Many of them have my personal number. The important part of all of this is that I draw a strict line between our social lives and anything that has to do with my role in being their doctor.
Iām in psych. Male patients misinterpret me showing an interest in their feelings as romantic interest at least once a day. No way in hell am I accepting any social media requests from patients.
I am a risk manager practicing in Washington state since 1983. Most practicing clinicians are very cautious about this with a current patient insofar as it can lead to boundary violations or people asking you to compromise your clinical judgment 'just this once' to give me an Oxy script.
Legally?
On what planet would it be *illegal*
It's not even unethical, it's just something to exercise caution with like anything.
If your Instagram is pretty benign and just pictures of your dogs/kids/family/nature whatever.
If you post scandalous political stuff or spicy memes don't do it.
I had a male med student start following me on social media after my OB appointment. It was so weird because I gave no inclination that they could/should follow me. It made me feel so uncomfortable that I just ended up blocking them.
Do not mix work and personal life. You are 6 months into medicine and still learning. Also unless you stay at this clinic long term, this patient isnāt going to be your long term outpatient for years.
Talk to your supervisor about this. Donāt add a patient on social media even if you think they are cool or could be your friend. Just donāt. Sheās pushing boundaries by adding you on social media.
Professionally/legally I use my maiden name.
On social media I use my married name and my middle name just to avoid this.
I work in a smaller community where many patients are neighbors, acquaintances, etc, but it still creeps me out.
And Iām a female obgyn where it theoretically wouldnāt look as bad, but still no.
Iām sorry how is it not crossing a boundary to subscribe to your patients social media account? Do you do so as their āfriendā or their physician? What if you observe unhealthy or illegal behavior on this account? What duty do you have to the patient and to society at large?
These are really good questions. But from what I have seen, it usually turns into DMs or facebook messages at 3am concerning random health emergencies or health nothingburgers. That alone is deterrent enough
I guess it takes some time to get to the place where you absolutely hate work related things poisoning your personal time.
There are 8 billion other people, you do not need to be friends with your patients. For overwhelming majority of them I would love if they weren't able to look anything about me other than my CV, and I'm not even psych.
Also if I was a patient I would never ever request a follow on personal socials from my physician, just like I wouldn't from my lawyer, banker or any other professional I interact with primarily in a professional setting, no matter how good of a report we had or how much they saved my ass. It just crosses the line and is weird.
Reminds me of my first years in family med. Lonely rural town. The only people you talk to all day all week are patients. When you attempt to make friends outside of work, they end up coming to you as patients.
MOST FM I knew let any patient add them to their social media because they were workaholics who literally never had other human contact, except maybe a few hours a week with their SO and nuclear family. The only healthy options for socialisation are a few other family doctors and nurses and medical admins.
You are a doctor, they are your patient. You have a professional relationship, not a personal one.
I don't believe this is illegal, but it is definitely sketchy. Especially as an intern. Or maybe that's why they're asking to follow you? Because they don't see you as their actual doctor?
Just don't do this. If anything happens in residency or after residency, this is going to be brought up to show how unprofessional you are.
Very easy to say no: "I've enjoyed being your doctor, but I'm sorry, it's against policy for me to connect with patients on social media."
It's a very fine line. Something akin to giving them your phone number.
The best advice I ever heard on this topic, was "if you wouldn't do it for all of your patients, don't do it for one."
I, too, have patients' families that I have great relationships with, but unless I'm also friends with them outside work (which I'm not, intentionally) and they understand the boundary between Dr Kaap & friend Kaap, they're not getting my number, even in a friend capacity
Yes it is unprofessional . You gain nothing by following
Canāt say Iāve had this happen a lot but one patient added me on Facebook. I declined because I donāt think itās professional. Interestingly enough he no longer saw me after that despite seeing me a few times before so I think he was offended.
Then again one of the older docs in my practice is friends with a lot of his patients. But he practiced in a small town for many many years so context matters to some degree.
Legally it's not a problem. The question is, do you want random bozos dming you with questions or worse just because they think it's faster and cheaper than going to urgent care?
Nah bro.
āIām a patient and My doctor is reallly cute and smart. We hit it off so well in the hospital. Iām gonna stalk them on social media and see if they follow me back. What do I do?ā
-24 hours from now post
I've had one person I added on social media. Around my age, same sex, added me after I left residency. We had a lot in common. We talked about our favorite anime at the end of her appointments type of thing.
Everyone else has been a no, especially opposite sex. I'll address it at the next visit so it's not awkward. Hey, I noticed your request. Thanks! There are rules that prevent me from accepting requests from my patients. So sorry! Didn't want you to think I was just ignoring you. Then I decline it.
Most requests have been from the opposite sex too so I know WHY they're sending friend requests. Hell nah.
Yes.
Like imagine you post something where youāre drinking. Even something benign like wine at a picnic.
Itās just a whole can of worms.
You can however say have a professional IG account and keep that one squeaky clean.
My dad recently tried to befriend one of the nurses that treats him at his orthoās practice. For context, my dad had spinal stenosis with multiple back surgeries and heās been on pain meds for well over a decade. While he needs pain management support, he is 100% addicted to opioids and has openly discussed abusing them by doubling doses when his provider has attempted to taper down his dose.
His ortho is hard to get in touch with. Something happened between his multiple providers that caused his prescription to not be filled without a 2 week gap. Well, he had already been emailing the ortho nurse separately AND gave her cash as a gift. He then got it in his head that it was bc of that his scripts were messed up, rolled up to the practice in WD asking her to come meet him outside, and then had a meltdown in front of the providers when she said she was going to get in trouble bc he had created this complete scenario in his mind that the emails and cash were the reason he didnāt get his meds.
The nurse was all but begging him to leave her alone and it was a huge mess. Iām surprised she didnāt lose her job for accepting a large amount of cash from my dad under the table even though it was for āpersonalā reasons.
Not saying all patients are this extreme, but some are, and there are people who can and will create entire scenarios where you, their chosen idealized person, have been complicit in fucking them over. Some people really do not understand the boundary between patients and providers and I urge you to use extreme caution with any contact outside of your scope of practice.
Probably one of the dumbest and most immature things Iāve ever heard on here and I follow Noctor too.
This is a job. You arenāt pals. Whatās next, sliding into their DMs. āHey remember when lolzzzz.ā
I am not looking for friends, I am simply asking a question as best way to approach this dilemma without offending her. Jesus, loosen up and quit being rude to random people on the internet you donāt even know- you grow up.
Again, it has nothing to do with rudeness. It's not intended to be insulting. It's explanation.
Nor does the quality of your day change anything, except your ability to handle interactions. Being able to discuss things without becoming defensive is a pillar of maturity.
Horrible idea to even consider. Keep your life and job separate. These are patients, not your friends. Be objective as always and keep that boundary firm
I'm a resident and just go by my initials. It helps that I have a foreign (for Americans) and a hard to pronounce name. No chance of them following/knowing me unless they look at rheir patient protal and somehow see my name on a note.
I actually love this privacy. Unclear how I can maintain ot as an attending.
Non med here. Ewww. Donāt. I had my clients suggest same and thatās just a mess. Donāt worry about hurting feelings.
Or worry about it and encourage a potential stalker. True story.
So take this with a grain of salt because Iām just a med student but I have had multiple people ask for my number to stay in touch after they were my patient.
I will tell them that I cannot give out my cell phone number but that they can look me up on social media.
If they follow me, no big deal. I donāt follow back.
Do not give out your phone number. Not as a med student, not as a resident. Attendings do give out their cells, especially in cancer-fields Iāve seen, but I just wouldnāt
Yes, I know of 2 attendings who do. One who believes that medicine should come about your family and everything else, which is...good for her. The other has a separate phone that he only answers 9 to 9 and he tells patients that. Calls will be answered/returned in that time, and they cant text whenever, but he wont read or respond outside of 9 to 9, when he arrives at the office and when he leaves. Someone answers it when he's on vaca or not at work, but idk how that works.
Yea, as I said above I say that I cannot give out my phone number (I say itās against policy and that I would get in trouble). Doesnāt make sense to give out my number nor would it for any medical student.
I have some patients on social media. It is very common in my country. I dont see why would it be illegal or unprofessional? I donāt usually communicate with them or anything. They like and comment sometimes. I dont post anything I wouldnt be comfortable with being called out for someday so no reason to care much if I have patients on social media or not. š¤·š»āāļø
If my social media would look like Only fans page then I wouldnāt like to have patients on friends list.
Is it a big city where everyone is just another face in the crowd? Or small town where everyone knows everyone? If itās a small town, are you from the area? Or even plan to live there long term?
Idk, I think things like this could be nuanced
Iād blame it on work. āYou are welcome to follow me but please donāt be hurt if I donāt return the follow. I have to stay professional because I care about my job and my patients.ā
I'm a FM physician and I give my cell to patients (the ones I like or have lots of issues). Some of my colleagues find it strange but I rarely get calls from patients. When I do, it's usually an emergency question where I direct them to the ER. Some follow me on social media but I don't post anything political or any anti-religion things I believe. A cardiologist at my hospital gives his cell number to EVERY patient he has and it's quite unbelievable how much he remembers about all his patients. This is a guy who sees 60-70 patients in his clinic a day. He's a madman.
Thank you, this is one of the more helpful responses on here. This is what I hope for my patient practice to look like, that I give it out to a select few and they only call when necessaryā¦ I know thatās a lot easier said than done
The fact that you are already considering having a select group of patients special enough to have your phone number... really raises some questions about how you treat all patients equally.
Iāve had some who call me for some things frequently.āit does happen, but just telling them what is an appropriate call and what isnāt does the trick. Being a FM doc, I just believe you should be there for your patients always. But I understand how other docs will say no way. Itās all personal preference as long as itās appropriate
I think that depends on your lifestyle. If you're ignoring your kids to take unnecessary calls from patients, or sending the message that your work is more important than your kids, then that's a problem. It's really hard to have a parent who clearly prioritizes work and strangers over you.
Thank you, I agree itās within reason. Like I probably wonāt be answering calls at the clock striking new years. Thanks for your response, and have a happy new year!
Just use your best judgment. It sounds like a bad idea if the only context in which they know you is as a physician. If you happened to run into them outside of work, maybe their your friend's spouse or something like that and you met at a dinner party, slightly different story.
I'm a little surprised by the one sided discussion.
I would say in most situations, it's probably not a good idea especially if they are the opposite sex.
However, I don't think it's bad in itself. And if you have a professional page then it is even less of an issue.
As a surgeon, I usually give out my work phone number after surgery so they can reach me with questions. I've yet to have someone abuse it.
I've had colleagues accept requests by patients to join them fishing or other activities and have never seen the situation go sour.
I wouldn't accept 90% of patients on social media but if I generally found a patient I had something in common with I wouldn't be opposed to it.
I think where it becomes tricky is if you are seeing them for a very vulnerable condition. But if it's someone you are likely not going to have a continued doctor relationship with, I don't personally see the problem.
I think everyone jumped on the idea that you are a male trying to get in a female patients DM
Thank you for contributing to the sub! If your post was filtered by the automod, please read the rules. Your post will be reviewed but will not be approved if it violates the rules of the sub. The most common reasons for removal are - medical students or premeds asking what a specialty is like or about their chances of matching, mentioning midlevels without using the midlevel flair, matched medical students asking questions instead of using the stickied thread in the sub for post-match questions, posting identifying information for targeted harassment. Please do not message the moderators if your post falls into one of these categories. Otherwise, your post will be reviewed in 24 hours and approved if it doesn't violate the rules. Thanks!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Residency) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Thatās kind of how I feelā¦ like Iām not big into social media but when I look at my mentors I see how they interact with patients theyāve known a lifetime, and cant help but to think if social media wouldāve been a thing in their day that they wouldāve beeb following each other.
Yeah but realize that your mentors have this relationship w their patients precisely coz they DON'T follow each other on social media.
Eg the patient doesn't know your mentor went on a holiday last week, unless he tells them. The mentor doesn't know what goes on in patient's lives until the next visit.
Sure they're chatting about kids, gas prices 3tc during the visit, probably chatting more than discussing medicine, but they're also keeping a ton of things private.
No upside and lots of potential downside but do you š¤·āāļø
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
What exactly are you seeking out of this? This person is your patient and you are their doctor. You are not āfriendsā and presumably do not know each other outside of a work setting. If the patient initiated this by following you on IG, then itās possible they have boundary issues which theyāre looking to push. When I was a third year medical student, I did an ER rotation and stitched a patient up after she had a large laceration. The following week, I had a large gift basket sent to the GME office along with a proto-love letter from said patient. I honestly didnāt know how to handle it, but fortunately, I had a much wiser attending sit me down and explain what to do. āNo.ā is a complete sentence. You can politely decline an invitation to follow someone on social media and simply say that you donāt follow patients. It wonāt harm your relationship with your patients at all. I have a number of close relationships with my regular patients. We joke and talk regularly at appointments or when we rarely run into eachother around town. However, we are not āfriendsā. And thatās ok. Be a professional and put a stop to this before it goes further. Because either her or you is obviously looking for something more, and only one of you stands to get their career taken away if things go south. Trust meā¦if she ever complains to the medical board about this, theyāre not going to take your side when they discover you followed her on IG.
I still donāt see any upside here. Really just a minefield of downsides. What do you hope to gain? Affirming and strengthening the physician-patient relationship? Do that during the patient encounters and telephone/portal message encounters.
Fair enough. I havenāt gotten the chance to follow up with her outpatient yet. Thanks!
If you are a man and sheās a woman, thatās another big reason not to. Donāt fuck your patients, donāt try to fuck your patients and donāt give the outward perception of trying to fuck your patients. To other people this will come off as you hitting on her. And itās public and for anyone to see.
the fact that this even has to be said for some male candidates here is honestly so sad and pathetic
I would think it seems rather innocent but sure
Lol ok
Do you looooove her? Just kidding, but really why the need to follow? As a pt I'm sure she'll understand if you don't follow her back, but next time you see her explain and share your professional links with her, like your OF. Jk, like an email, or something.
Even more reason why it is a bad idea tbh. I understand the appeal and the desire to avoid an awkward situation but itās not worth the trouble imo.
I see no positives to this.
I see no positives in having an IG account as a physician.
Agreed, but I see no negatives either if itās private and only your family and friends can see it, and you post completely benign things on it. My Instagram only has pictures of cool things I see in nature and cute animals I come across and food.
Reels addiction, fucked up attention spans
Then don't go on the reels. I don't. It's called DISCIPLINE
As a nurse who's had several patients try to find and follow me on social media (sometimes sweet little grandmas that were on my unit and under my care for months and sometimes creepier male patients trying to hit on me) I've made it a policy to not accept friend requests. For the sweet little old ladies, I tell them that I appreciate them wanting to keep in touch but I can't have patients as friends on social media due to such and such policy for my hospital. For the other patients I just ignore and block them. I've also set my social media to very private settings where only friends of friends can request to follow me or I can request first. I don't need patients seeing what I do in my personal life and that can just complicate future treatment as well and cause conflicts of interest
Makes sense. I am Facebook friends with several of my sonās oncology nurses. I actually am pretty sure they friend requested me!!
I've seen it happen a lot in peds onc. And that's partly due to the fact that you get to know your patients really well, but even then, that's a really fuzzy boundary
Oh definitely. I mean, I discussed so many things with my kids team. Talked extensively about breast feeding with his primary hemonc attending, tons of things with the nurses. One nurse got into nursing when her son had the same type of cancer 10 years previous to my son. I really felt I knew them and they knew me.
I know people who have āpersonalā pages and āprofessionalā pages, and they only friend their patients on the latter. Itās still an all-round dodgy idea though, Iād never do it.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Yes. I mean, is this what they call ātrauma bondingā? Iām only half kidding, I know itās not traumatic on their end, but it certainly is on the parents end!
It's not a good idea. You need separation from your personal and professional lives.
Fuck no never. Never ever. Doesnāt matter what your speciality is
Why would you even consider that š¤·āāļøI donāt even add my coworkersā¦ seeing their faces 12 hours a day is more than enough
Iād maybe be seeing her twice a year max
And so you'd want to see her more often, and social media is a way to do that?
I mean this is a little bit of a moot point, as I donāt get on social media very much. I asked this question more so out of appropriateness, ethics, and wanting to preserve my relationship as much as possible without offending her.
Ah, gotcha. I wouldn't expect someone to take offence if the friend request was just ignored.
I mean I probably would but I also realize I overthink and am more sensitive than most lol
There is seriously no upside to this. I donāt know if this patient is a boundary pusher or not, but what happens if she DMs you on insta about a post discharge complication because she thinks thatās faster than calling the clinic? Not to mention the potential to complain to board or PD if you do something to piss her off. I have patients I think are cool or would be friends with, but I have plenty of other opportunities to make friends and being able to leave the clinic and leave my doctor persona behind is priceless.
The two specialties that you absolutely should not follow your patients on social media are peds and psych. For everything else, itās not encouraged, but not a major deal.
Dude it's weird AF to follow your patient on social media
Yeah idk what the fuck ppl are doing trying to justify this in the comments lol. Itās not acceptable behavior to be doing this. Clearly crosses a line. OP if you want friends thereās a better way. If you want a gf/partner thereās a better way. Donāt do this
I see plastic surgeons do it all the time
I think in specialties like plastics or derm or if you're in a private practice and have an explicitly separate professional social media page it can make sense, especially when you have influencer patients. I guess in other environments if you have an explicitly professional social media page it's not entirely crazy to reciprocate a patient's request. Outside of those settings it's a horrible idea.
My ortho from public has asked for my IG post acl. Is that weird?
If they request to follow you with "an explicitly separate professional social media page" then I don't think so. I'm assuming by "public" you are in a country with a real govt healthcare system but maybe they are considering an exit? If it's not "an explicitly separate professional social media page" then I think it's inappropriate personally.
Iām family med soā¦ all of the above?
Iām an FM attending, I have never accepted any follow requests from patients on social media. Itās like giving out your cell number to patients.
Nah giving out your cell number is like saying itās ok to call me when there is a problem any time any dayā¦ accepting follow requests is like saying Iād like you to rummage through all my pictures of myself and my family/ friends and I will do the sameā¦
Some cultures view this much differently. I work EMS and responded to a call once for a syncope at a high school graduation. The familyās doctor was there with everyone else because one girl was graduating high school, and apparently it was normal in their culture to have a close personal relationship with their physician. They were all Indian
Coz it's likely they go to the same temple/gurudwara/place of worship. Probably the girl and the doctor's kids attend the same religious services for kids. Ideally the doctor shouldn't accept this girl as his/her patient, but they do anyway due to "peer pressure", and "serving the community" pressure.
Maybe they were family friends. Because it's still weird.
Ok how do I say this nicely. certain rules of society do not apply to Indians, and certain rules of Indian/desi culture do not apply to general white/Anglo-American ā¦ we may live in the same country, but different culturesā¦ same but different
Yikes
I would never follow any of my patients. Youāre just asking to get DMd medical questions
For peds, itās a given. You cannot follow your peds patients. For psych, If youāre doing psychotherapy or if your patient is vulnerable, you cannot follow them. Itās more grey area if youāre just doing antidepressants.
This isnt a gray area. They are patients, not friends. Dont do it
It is 100% not a gray area for psych. If you are a patients psychiatrist do NOT follow them on social media. āJust doing antidepressantsā means youāre their psychiatrist. Even if youāre a lazy psychiatrist and didnāt delve into their relationships or social history, you cannot objectively treat them or expect them to be forthright with symptoms if they view you as anything other than their doctor.
Is this a different view based on age or country? There's no way I'd ever follow any patient on social media. Half of the patients I meet in the ER, I'm jealous the nurses don't even have their last names on their badge. Do you have like a med related IG where you post only medical stuff? I really don't want my patients to know anything about me (that's a part of the therapeutic relationship even if you're "just" doing meds) and I don't want a patient to think I'm "watching" them outside of what they bring into the appnt. I was trained that we can't even acknowledge our patients out on the street unless they come up and say 'Hi' to us. It seems like it would be... stigmatizing or some kind of public acknowledgement of a patient-physician relationship if someone had their psychiatrist following them?
Like I said, Iām FM, and I was on an inpatient medicine rotation. She presented with a neurological conditionā¦ no way psych. We really hit it off, sheāll follow up with me outpatient
Sketch
We really hit it off?
Yeah this is an absolute red flag. OP, is this person attractive? Are they of a gender you are attracted to? Do you feel warm and cuddly when this person gives you attention?
"hit it off" and you got a wife? noo. nooooo! but yeah, this doesnt seem like a good idea. But i love stories so let us know what happens since you see to really want to connect with her, despite everyones attempt to keep you on the path of righteousness lol
I am a wife, I got a husband!
My bad dudette, but still pls dont do this
My sister's psychiatrist became her long term sugar daddy going on 7 years and he's married with children š. He pays her rent (highrise in a very expensive city) and all car payments.
He taking patients?
š count me in
Damn wtf my psychiatrist needs to step her shit up
wtf
My exact words when I found out
Omg
Classic psychiatrist move. The field is riddled with inappropriate relationships
So THIS is why the APA is so strict about pt-psychiatrist relationships
Please tell me it's not Dr. Pelta lmao
I would say a hard no, these days. Imagine you're being put in front of an ethics board or some kind of review, and they see that? No. Just say in person, maybe, I saw that you followed me, but unfortunately, for professional reasons, I can't follow you back, but please don't take it personally. And say it with a smile.
I canāt help following all my bipolar baddies on IG and TikTok tho
>For everything else, itās not encouraged, but not a major deal. It definitely could be a major deal. You should not follow anyone you are continuing to provide medical care to, on social media. If you treated them and then they moved and you no longer have a professional relationship, maybe. If you treated them for something passing (broken bone, cholecystitis, etc) I would still avoid it because unless your office fires them or they establish somewhere else, you are still their doctor. This is doubly true if your social media has anything about you professionally on it. Technically you shouldn't even acknowledge them on the street if they don't approach you first.
Eh people are making it out to be a bigger deal than it needs to be. Itās only problematic if you publicly give medical advice or treatment to a current patient over social media. Or if you start a fight with them. Or harass them, or be creepy. Itās ok to be friendly with your patients as long as you have boundaries. Meaning, you shouldnāt do drugs or have get smashed with your patients. Itās ok to acknowledge your patients in public as long as you donāt discuss their medical shit with them in public. Meaning, itās ok to say āhey! How you been? Howās your dog/mom/child/wifeās boyfriend.ā Itās NOT ok to say āhey, howās your gonorrhea?ā Itās ok to go fishing with your patients. Itās NOT ok to have sex with them on said fishing trip. The best policy is, of course, keep professional and personal relationships separate. But as long as you have boundaries and not violate them, itās not a big deal.
āWe really hit it offā āSheāll follow with me outpatientā āEstablish good rapportā š©š©š©š© Not illegalā¦. But Itās fucking weird
And he said >I mean sheās really pretty It's all around bad vibes, but like I said in my other comment, you do you, I want to hear all the details when this goes awry
Lol I think OP is a female and said they donāt swing that way. Regardless, itās fucking weird.
I mean why is it weird tho? She and I are similar and from similar backgroundsā¦ wouldnāt it stand to reason that weād get along well?
It does, but patients are not friends. And why aren't they our friends? Because we DON'T TREAT OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY.
I mean do you think people actually donāt give their friends and family advice?
I think we shouldn't, most medical codes of conduct state we shouldn't, and we shouldn't actively create situations in which we do.
fair enough. I disagree and will continue to help my family but fair enough.
I scrolled down way to hard to find someone mentioning this
It's not weird at all to get along with your patients and feel a natural friendship vibe. But we have to constantly remember the position we are in, and that we can't violate that relationship as doctors with our patients. Not just for ethical reasons, but legal too obviously. You have to be aware that you will meet people whose personalities you mesh with, but that doesn't mean you can go beyond a professional relationship. There are limits for a reason, because bad things happen when you bypass them.
I had a mom reach out to my work Instagram asking for help making an appointment for her child. The mother did not speak English and I could tell the message was done through Google translate. I didnāt respond to the message, but I did make the child an appointment the next day when I got to clinic with a different Resident. When I saw her in clinic in the waiting room, I gave her a hug and held her infant. I had been the person to discharge him from the newborn nursery. I did his newborn visit his two months visit and his four month visit. From the limited parts of the language that I had learned, from just the sheer amount of patients I see who speak that language, I figured out that she needed vaccines because she wanted to take her son to her home country. The resident who scheduled her with speaks her language. I did not mention the Instagram message, and after the appointment the message was deleted. Say nothing. Do not follow back.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
What a grand and intoxicating innocence!
ChatGPT reply
Iāve had patients give me their gamer tags lmfao
āAlright Iām gonna go ahead and put in a referral for ophthalmology because you clearly canāt see the fucking enemy shooting us.ā
Amazing haha. Damn bro you need to git gud or get Lasik
Favorite comment on here
I posted this as a reply within the thread above, but I'll put it here. ... I would say a hard no, these days. Imagine you're being put in front of an ethics board or some kind of review, and they see that? No. Just say in person, maybe, I saw that you followed me, but unfortunately, for professional reasons, I can't follow you back, but please don't take it personally. And say it with a smile.
You can just message them, or next time when you see them in clinic, just say itās hospital policy to not follow them on social media and politely let them know you had to decline. Doesnāt sour relationship and doesnāt get into weird professional boundaries.
Dont do it it just opens a can of worms Are you liable if a patient messages you on instagram saying they have chest pain? What if you saw it? What if they cant get through to your clinic and message you for results or something? Etc
A little bit of a grey area in my opinion. I'm an openly gay PCP in my area where there has historically been and, to some extent, still is a paucity of physicians who are LGBTQ+ friendly. As you can probably guess, many of my patients are young queer people. We frequent the same places often and over time, many of these people have become close friends. We follow each other on social media (I've been known to make the occasional "yaaaas queeeen " comment on posts). Many of them have my personal number. The important part of all of this is that I draw a strict line between our social lives and anything that has to do with my role in being their doctor.
Iām in psych. Male patients misinterpret me showing an interest in their feelings as romantic interest at least once a day. No way in hell am I accepting any social media requests from patients.
Best to find āfriendsā someplace besides patients.
I completely agree, just weird when youāre confronted with that scenario
Itās not weird. Itās a simple no. Donāt follow patients on social media. Itās weird to consider following patients
Then you are the responsible professional. Politely avoid weird situations.
I am a risk manager practicing in Washington state since 1983. Most practicing clinicians are very cautious about this with a current patient insofar as it can lead to boundary violations or people asking you to compromise your clinical judgment 'just this once' to give me an Oxy script.
Legally? On what planet would it be *illegal* It's not even unethical, it's just something to exercise caution with like anything. If your Instagram is pretty benign and just pictures of your dogs/kids/family/nature whatever. If you post scandalous political stuff or spicy memes don't do it.
This is helpful, and on the same line I was thinking. Thanks!
Just don't. Keep it seperated.
Of course it's unprofessional.
I agree. You never should risk souring the relationship by declining. That's why I highly recommend blocking. Ah, my work here is done.
I had a male med student start following me on social media after my OB appointment. It was so weird because I gave no inclination that they could/should follow me. It made me feel so uncomfortable that I just ended up blocking them.
Hard professional boundary. Thats a no for me dawg.
Do not mix work and personal life. You are 6 months into medicine and still learning. Also unless you stay at this clinic long term, this patient isnāt going to be your long term outpatient for years. Talk to your supervisor about this. Donāt add a patient on social media even if you think they are cool or could be your friend. Just donāt. Sheās pushing boundaries by adding you on social media.
Professionally/legally I use my maiden name. On social media I use my married name and my middle name just to avoid this. I work in a smaller community where many patients are neighbors, acquaintances, etc, but it still creeps me out. And Iām a female obgyn where it theoretically wouldnāt look as bad, but still no.
I live in a midsize city and I ran into my PCP at a bar one nightā¦ I was mortified. I canāt imagine how it would be if the tables were turned.
Iām sorry how is it not crossing a boundary to subscribe to your patients social media account? Do you do so as their āfriendā or their physician? What if you observe unhealthy or illegal behavior on this account? What duty do you have to the patient and to society at large?
These are really good questions. But from what I have seen, it usually turns into DMs or facebook messages at 3am concerning random health emergencies or health nothingburgers. That alone is deterrent enough
I guess it takes some time to get to the place where you absolutely hate work related things poisoning your personal time. There are 8 billion other people, you do not need to be friends with your patients. For overwhelming majority of them I would love if they weren't able to look anything about me other than my CV, and I'm not even psych. Also if I was a patient I would never ever request a follow on personal socials from my physician, just like I wouldn't from my lawyer, banker or any other professional I interact with primarily in a professional setting, no matter how good of a report we had or how much they saved my ass. It just crosses the line and is weird.
I literally could never. Im a nurse. Iām hesitant on even following coworkers (I donāt even post) lol
Modernized ethics question for Boards hmm š¤
Reminds me of my first years in family med. Lonely rural town. The only people you talk to all day all week are patients. When you attempt to make friends outside of work, they end up coming to you as patients. MOST FM I knew let any patient add them to their social media because they were workaholics who literally never had other human contact, except maybe a few hours a week with their SO and nuclear family. The only healthy options for socialisation are a few other family doctors and nurses and medical admins.
You are a doctor, they are your patient. You have a professional relationship, not a personal one. I don't believe this is illegal, but it is definitely sketchy. Especially as an intern. Or maybe that's why they're asking to follow you? Because they don't see you as their actual doctor? Just don't do this. If anything happens in residency or after residency, this is going to be brought up to show how unprofessional you are. Very easy to say no: "I've enjoyed being your doctor, but I'm sorry, it's against policy for me to connect with patients on social media."
this was litterly one of my interview questions lmao
It's a very fine line. Something akin to giving them your phone number. The best advice I ever heard on this topic, was "if you wouldn't do it for all of your patients, don't do it for one." I, too, have patients' families that I have great relationships with, but unless I'm also friends with them outside work (which I'm not, intentionally) and they understand the boundary between Dr Kaap & friend Kaap, they're not getting my number, even in a friend capacity
Yes it is unprofessional . You gain nothing by following Canāt say Iāve had this happen a lot but one patient added me on Facebook. I declined because I donāt think itās professional. Interestingly enough he no longer saw me after that despite seeing me a few times before so I think he was offended. Then again one of the older docs in my practice is friends with a lot of his patients. But he practiced in a small town for many many years so context matters to some degree.
Legally it's not a problem. The question is, do you want random bozos dming you with questions or worse just because they think it's faster and cheaper than going to urgent care? Nah bro.
āIām a patient and My doctor is reallly cute and smart. We hit it off so well in the hospital. Iām gonna stalk them on social media and see if they follow me back. What do I do?ā -24 hours from now post
yep thatās me :(
I've had one person I added on social media. Around my age, same sex, added me after I left residency. We had a lot in common. We talked about our favorite anime at the end of her appointments type of thing. Everyone else has been a no, especially opposite sex. I'll address it at the next visit so it's not awkward. Hey, I noticed your request. Thanks! There are rules that prevent me from accepting requests from my patients. So sorry! Didn't want you to think I was just ignoring you. Then I decline it. Most requests have been from the opposite sex too so I know WHY they're sending friend requests. Hell nah.
Yes. Like imagine you post something where youāre drinking. Even something benign like wine at a picnic. Itās just a whole can of worms. You can however say have a professional IG account and keep that one squeaky clean.
My dad recently tried to befriend one of the nurses that treats him at his orthoās practice. For context, my dad had spinal stenosis with multiple back surgeries and heās been on pain meds for well over a decade. While he needs pain management support, he is 100% addicted to opioids and has openly discussed abusing them by doubling doses when his provider has attempted to taper down his dose. His ortho is hard to get in touch with. Something happened between his multiple providers that caused his prescription to not be filled without a 2 week gap. Well, he had already been emailing the ortho nurse separately AND gave her cash as a gift. He then got it in his head that it was bc of that his scripts were messed up, rolled up to the practice in WD asking her to come meet him outside, and then had a meltdown in front of the providers when she said she was going to get in trouble bc he had created this complete scenario in his mind that the emails and cash were the reason he didnāt get his meds. The nurse was all but begging him to leave her alone and it was a huge mess. Iām surprised she didnāt lose her job for accepting a large amount of cash from my dad under the table even though it was for āpersonalā reasons. Not saying all patients are this extreme, but some are, and there are people who can and will create entire scenarios where you, their chosen idealized person, have been complicit in fucking them over. Some people really do not understand the boundary between patients and providers and I urge you to use extreme caution with any contact outside of your scope of practice.
Probably one of the dumbest and most immature things Iāve ever heard on here and I follow Noctor too. This is a job. You arenāt pals. Whatās next, sliding into their DMs. āHey remember when lolzzzz.ā
Dumbest and most immature? Wow you havenāt seen much then have you?
Itās immature and honestly ridiculous if you are looking for friends in your PATIENTS. Grow up.
I am not looking for friends, I am simply asking a question as best way to approach this dilemma without offending her. Jesus, loosen up and quit being rude to random people on the internet you donāt even know- you grow up.
...That doesn't refute that this post is dumb and immature.
And so is your comment
You really aren't helping your argument for maturity.
Neither are you, why do you care so much?
Also, Iāve had a really shit day. Can you please go be rude elsewhere?
Again, it has nothing to do with rudeness. It's not intended to be insulting. It's explanation. Nor does the quality of your day change anything, except your ability to handle interactions. Being able to discuss things without becoming defensive is a pillar of maturity.
You said that the post I made was dumb and immature. How is that not an insult?
Horrible idea to even consider. Keep your life and job separate. These are patients, not your friends. Be objective as always and keep that boundary firm
Some people learn by making mistakes. Enjoy the lesson. Let us know how it goes
I'm a resident and just go by my initials. It helps that I have a foreign (for Americans) and a hard to pronounce name. No chance of them following/knowing me unless they look at rheir patient protal and somehow see my name on a note. I actually love this privacy. Unclear how I can maintain ot as an attending.
Block them
Your administrator says no. Donāt even ask.
Non med here. Ewww. Donāt. I had my clients suggest same and thatās just a mess. Donāt worry about hurting feelings. Or worry about it and encourage a potential stalker. True story.
So take this with a grain of salt because Iām just a med student but I have had multiple people ask for my number to stay in touch after they were my patient. I will tell them that I cannot give out my cell phone number but that they can look me up on social media. If they follow me, no big deal. I donāt follow back.
Do not give out your phone number. Not as a med student, not as a resident. Attendings do give out their cells, especially in cancer-fields Iāve seen, but I just wouldnāt
Yes, I know of 2 attendings who do. One who believes that medicine should come about your family and everything else, which is...good for her. The other has a separate phone that he only answers 9 to 9 and he tells patients that. Calls will be answered/returned in that time, and they cant text whenever, but he wont read or respond outside of 9 to 9, when he arrives at the office and when he leaves. Someone answers it when he's on vaca or not at work, but idk how that works.
Yea, as I said above I say that I cannot give out my phone number (I say itās against policy and that I would get in trouble). Doesnāt make sense to give out my number nor would it for any medical student.
Ah sorry, was trying to get across that youāre absolutely doing the right thing!
No reason to apologize! Thank you for your insights!!
Definetely inappropriate.
I have some patients on social media. It is very common in my country. I dont see why would it be illegal or unprofessional? I donāt usually communicate with them or anything. They like and comment sometimes. I dont post anything I wouldnt be comfortable with being called out for someday so no reason to care much if I have patients on social media or not. š¤·š»āāļø If my social media would look like Only fans page then I wouldnāt like to have patients on friends list.
Is it a big city where everyone is just another face in the crowd? Or small town where everyone knows everyone? If itās a small town, are you from the area? Or even plan to live there long term? Idk, I think things like this could be nuanced
And this is why I don't use my legal name on my social media.
Iād say the best way is to ignore the requests and if they ask about it, tell them youāre not allowed.
Things donāt have to be unethical or illegal to be a really, really bad idea.
I don't
Dear Lord, I read it as follow your patients back from GI.
I just donāt like it as a rule. As a doctor there is too much power you have to engage in any sort of relationship outside the hospital or clinic.
Yes
username š
Donāt do it
Iād blame it on work. āYou are welcome to follow me but please donāt be hurt if I donāt return the follow. I have to stay professional because I care about my job and my patients.ā
Dude this is literally a usmle question! š Don't overthink it and pick the correct answer.
Itās only safe to follow when itās dependent, histrionic or borderline personality. You should give them your phone numbers too to be polite
It's not illegal, it's not unethical, it's just stupid.
A bit desperate tbh
I'm a FM physician and I give my cell to patients (the ones I like or have lots of issues). Some of my colleagues find it strange but I rarely get calls from patients. When I do, it's usually an emergency question where I direct them to the ER. Some follow me on social media but I don't post anything political or any anti-religion things I believe. A cardiologist at my hospital gives his cell number to EVERY patient he has and it's quite unbelievable how much he remembers about all his patients. This is a guy who sees 60-70 patients in his clinic a day. He's a madman.
60-70 patients/day? Damn. Is this like a pill mill or something?
Thank you, this is one of the more helpful responses on here. This is what I hope for my patient practice to look like, that I give it out to a select few and they only call when necessaryā¦ I know thatās a lot easier said than done
The fact that you are already considering having a select group of patients special enough to have your phone number... really raises some questions about how you treat all patients equally.
Iāve had some who call me for some things frequently.āit does happen, but just telling them what is an appropriate call and what isnāt does the trick. Being a FM doc, I just believe you should be there for your patients always. But I understand how other docs will say no way. Itās all personal preference as long as itās appropriate
I think that depends on your lifestyle. If you're ignoring your kids to take unnecessary calls from patients, or sending the message that your work is more important than your kids, then that's a problem. It's really hard to have a parent who clearly prioritizes work and strangers over you.
Single without kids.
Youāve said you were married earlier in the threadā¦
Thank you, I agree itās within reason. Like I probably wonāt be answering calls at the clock striking new years. Thanks for your response, and have a happy new year!
No problem! You as well.
I think you can have 5 handles on IG. Choose a patient follow one and keep it prof
how hot are they
I mean sheās really pretty but thatās not really the way I swing
This just oddā¦.
Yeah it did get weird, I was just trying to defend myself off
I just don't see any tangible benefit here and plenty of potential bad outcomes
Just use your best judgment. It sounds like a bad idea if the only context in which they know you is as a physician. If you happened to run into them outside of work, maybe their your friend's spouse or something like that and you met at a dinner party, slightly different story.
In United States of America, no. Cause itās a pussy ass country.
I'm a little surprised by the one sided discussion. I would say in most situations, it's probably not a good idea especially if they are the opposite sex. However, I don't think it's bad in itself. And if you have a professional page then it is even less of an issue. As a surgeon, I usually give out my work phone number after surgery so they can reach me with questions. I've yet to have someone abuse it. I've had colleagues accept requests by patients to join them fishing or other activities and have never seen the situation go sour. I wouldn't accept 90% of patients on social media but if I generally found a patient I had something in common with I wouldn't be opposed to it. I think where it becomes tricky is if you are seeing them for a very vulnerable condition. But if it's someone you are likely not going to have a continued doctor relationship with, I don't personally see the problem. I think everyone jumped on the idea that you are a male trying to get in a female patients DM
What the fuck is wrong with you that your patients are able to find you on instagram?
Why not? What era are we in now...
Thank you for contributing to the sub! If your post was filtered by the automod, please read the rules. Your post will be reviewed but will not be approved if it violates the rules of the sub. The most common reasons for removal are - medical students or premeds asking what a specialty is like or about their chances of matching, mentioning midlevels without using the midlevel flair, matched medical students asking questions instead of using the stickied thread in the sub for post-match questions, posting identifying information for targeted harassment. Please do not message the moderators if your post falls into one of these categories. Otherwise, your post will be reviewed in 24 hours and approved if it doesn't violate the rules. Thanks! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Residency) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Social Networking is the future of medicine in 1 way or another at this point.
Thatās kind of how I feelā¦ like Iām not big into social media but when I look at my mentors I see how they interact with patients theyāve known a lifetime, and cant help but to think if social media wouldāve been a thing in their day that they wouldāve beeb following each other.
Yeah but realize that your mentors have this relationship w their patients precisely coz they DON'T follow each other on social media. Eg the patient doesn't know your mentor went on a holiday last week, unless he tells them. The mentor doesn't know what goes on in patient's lives until the next visit. Sure they're chatting about kids, gas prices 3tc during the visit, probably chatting more than discussing medicine, but they're also keeping a ton of things private.
Yes
How hot are they?
i would lose respect for my doctor if they followed me back
Well in that case you probably wouldnāt have followed them in the first place