Big Brother Is Watching
“Professionalism” was a word I had only heard a time or two before beginning medical school. Thank God I don’t have to hear it anymore, but not before I got sick and tired.
An anonymous reader of MSH tipped me off to this whole “professionalism” thing being taken to a whole new level (thanks, you know who you are). I won’t get into any infringing details, but let’s just say that big brother is watching you when you’re not at school.
In short, there have been some incidences of student activity on web sites (such as blogs as well as social networks) being monitored by school administration.
Students at some schools are now being punished for voicing their opinions. This is not OK in my opinion. Some schools are even going so far as to include statements about “inappropriate activity” in their professionalism code of conduct. Such “inappropriate activity” can potentially include cynical commentary on social networking sites or personal blogs.
How far is too far? Will the administration start banning together with bar and nightclub owners to spy on student activity away from class? Will your alcohol consumption begin being monitored? How about sexual activity or sexual orientation?
A student’s time away from class is their personal time. As long as they aren’t breaking any laws, it’s an infringement of basic human rights to punish a student for something he or she said on a personal blog.
I’m a huge fan of free speech, and I’ll say whatever the hell I feel like saying. I know some medical school administrators read this blog, and the ones that enforce such inane policies can all kiss my ass.
Always remember that MedSchool Hell is waiting with open arms to accept student’s cynical, politically incorrect, or otherwise anti-medical school commentary. Students of every medical school across the country and abroad may contribute anything they wish and not ever worry about their dictator-like administration catching them. Everyone is anonymous here.
I have to wonder if blogs such as this one are the root cause for such new policies going into affect at medical schools. Are you afraid to visit MSH from one of your school’s computers? If so, you need to take a step back and fight for your freedom of information.
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TJD said
May 5 2007 @ 2:25 pm
I wonder what would happen if a school disciplined a student for venting their frustration online and the student turned around and made a court case out of it.
A private school could get away with it but their reputation might take a hit.
A state school shouldn’t be able to considering they’re technically a government institution and have to observe the constitution. Who knows though.
Parcho said
May 5 2007 @ 7:38 pm
In my old blog life–I wasn’t so anonymous. The Dean found out about the site and called me in for a special meeting to make sure I didn’t do anything stupid with the blog–like violate HIPAA or something.
Someonect said
May 5 2007 @ 8:01 pm
i would have to agree with you on freedom of speech. the problem is you must be careful with that freedom. for good or bad, the “public” views medical professionals different than most other professions. we are held to a higher standard. agree or disagree, this is true. so, everyone do what you will with your freedom of speech, but be willing to accept the consequences.
most colleges and other institutions have some rules on codes of conduct
(http://dms.dartmouth.edu/students/resources/conduct.shtml). if you publish you actions or views on line in a blog or on a myspace page, you put yourself out there to be seen. i am sure administrations are acutely aware of all of the media available and can tract certain “critical” behaviors.
so, just be wary. i do believe as hoover said, big brother is watching you. (by the way medicine is not the only field that is seening this type of monitoring)
Hoover said
May 6 2007 @ 3:22 am
Someonetc, I just read over the code of conduct you posted. It’s funny that they state:
Yet work you to the bone so that you have very little time for such a lifestyle.
Hypocrisy at it’s best.
Red Beard said
May 6 2007 @ 3:47 am
On the first day of class at my school we had a full lecture on “professionalism.” The doc basically just kept repeating “this isn’t about you anymore, its about your future patients.”
I don’t buy into this self-negation philosophy, its completely unhealthy. Echoing Hoover’s comment, its misguided to think that a system which puts us in the worst physical and psychological condition of our lives is likely to produce selfless healers with impeccable ‘professionalism.’ Sometimes I think I’ll be damn lucky to make it through without turning into a complete a-hole.
Panda Bear said
May 6 2007 @ 7:43 am
Arrrghh. Someonetc, there can be no legal, emphasize legal, consequences for free speech. That’s why we have a constitution that guarantees it. Any consequences would be illegal and immoral and it is our duty as Americans to resist infringment on our rights by anyone. To just shrug our shoulders and say, “They had it coming,” is so contrary to our organizing principles that it should be obvious.
Now, disclosing patient information is one thing but no institution can legally restrict protected free speech, even if some represntatives of The Man think it is unprofessional. Again, fuck ‘em. It’s their problem and I gurantee that if it came to it, they would lose their case if they tried to make their “professionalism code” stick.
Justin said
May 6 2007 @ 8:12 am
Panda Bear, I agree that we do need to be strong in the face of people attempting to stop our free speech. But at a private school, can’t they let you go for no reason? I know that at Catholic Schools, employees can be fired for getting pregnant out of wedlock, something that would never fly at a state funded school. Not receiving government funds may prevent institutions from having to follow certain rules.
Someonect said
May 6 2007 @ 10:10 am
well, i thought was safe just to state facts, but i guess not ’cause panda gave me the arrggg. i DID NOT say legal action. the thing is that every school, big business, and government agency has some sort of CODE OF CONDUCT. i posted 1 as an example. here are a few others
http://hsc.unm.edu/som/oss/acad_policies/ap_conduct.shtml
http://codeofconduct.wustl.edu/procedures.html
http://www.smbs.buffalo.edu/ome/PCC/code.html
some business codes of conduct
http://www.bcbsla.com/web/reddotcm/files/BusCodeConduct1006.pdf
http://www.entercom.com/docs/corpGov/Corp%20Gov%20Doc%20-%20Code%20of%20Business%20Conduct%20and%20Ethics.pdf
i could keep going. the thing is that these things always existed. if you put out there on you myspace page that (just an example) “you were out partying with friends drinking and smoking the ‘mary jane’” you make yourself vulnerable to the code of conduct. if you mention a patients name or give too much information that may verge on HIPPA violation.
i said be careful not to curb what you say. you can do a NWA freedom of speech for all i’m concerned (remember “fuck tha police” or snoops “187 on an undercover cop”). say you hate your professor or dislike the administration. may be in doing that someone will listen.
i truly believe in freedom of speech. there should be no attempt to oppress the thought and views of an individual. it is your behaviors that you speak about that people will react to more than the words themselves. if you publish statements about particular behaviors on line and these behaviors as seen as a violation of someone’s code of conduct or ethics, then you may be at risk. that is the field we are in. our behavior outside of our practice has become public knowledge. physicians are held to a higher standard. this is not an opinion, this is reality.
http://www.ama.com.au/web.nsf/tag/amacodeofethics
http://www.childrensmemorial.org/legal_info/code_conduct.asp
Miami_med said
May 6 2007 @ 10:43 am
When it comes to private institutions, the government and courts basically make up the rules as they go along. Constitutionally, it would seem that a private institution would be allowed to let you go. This isn’t a legal consequence. However, since virtually no medical school exists without millions of dollars in government money, it’s hard to call any of them private (The government loves this by the way). Public institutions are even more complex, in the sense that you have a legal protection from retribution against free speach, but being let go from an institution isn’t necessarily a “legal consequence.” I’ll give you an example (with the names changed to protect the innocent and privacy).
I know an attorney who is representing a man who was let go from a social work program because he suggested to a patient on his internship (a catholic patient no less) that he could get social support from his church. This offended the enlightened liberal sensibilities of someone at his institution, and he was summarily dismissed. He then sued (this is a public school). This case is still active, it is now over five years old, and no one is actually winning. Now, this was on a school internship, but it generally shows the same thing. There is really mixed legal precedent when it comes to this sort of thing.
Someonect said
May 6 2007 @ 5:41 pm
i came across this blog while doing some research for mine … check it out, i think it is worth reading
http://www.debaird.net/blendededunet/2007/03/gen_y_growing_u.html
Half MD said
May 6 2007 @ 9:20 pm
At my school, the administrators expressed concern to the student government about my posts on SDN. They were afraid that I might say something bad about the university. What blows my mind is that if my med school actually gave a damn about quality they would work on faculty-student relationships and would listen to student concerns. What really gets me is how unprofessional some of the professors are. At my school, “professionalism” means “do as I say, not as I do.”
Hoover said
May 6 2007 @ 9:45 pm
Instead of worrying about what you could possibly say bad about your school, they should be fixing any would-be problems to begin with. Geez the places these dumbasses spend their time and energy. It could be so much more productive if done right.
If shit is wrong at your school, you have a right to bitch and moan about it all you want IMO. It’s ultimately the only way things will get fixed.
McNinja said
May 7 2007 @ 7:21 pm
Good lord. It is one thing if you post naked pictures of your sorority (thank god for sorostitutes) underneath your letters on your house. Of course your sorority can pull your charter. However, the school can’t and shouldn’t let you go. They might be able to tell you to tone down the craziness, but then again, I have no problem with that. If you have a blog that does not identify your school, then post all you want. If you identify your school, or a particular person, it gets a little stranger though. Libel comes into play, and other legal things. HIPAA is even worse.
At the very least, don’t make yourself or your drunken, racist, sexist, or any other -ist exploits available to someone who googles your name. Many people are doing this prior to job and residency interviews, so you are only hurting yourself. Not many people are willing to dig deep enough to figure out who purchased the domain, so even a very basic attempt at anonymity will do.
Zuwie said
May 7 2007 @ 11:34 pm
Hoover, you’re cracking me up with this “dietary” thing! Are you suggesting that you act unprofessionally every time you eat a Pop Tart?
Note: this is my “got hammered after celebrating med school graduation” post.
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