Dangers and Benefits of Social Networks: E- professionalism of Healthcare Professionals

The aim of this presentation is to show the complex issue of impact that social networks make on e-professionalism of healthcare professionals. No one, nor even health professionals, is spared the possible threats and negative sides that social networks carry. One of the spheres where the benefits and threats are reflected is the professionalism on social network sites – named e- professionalism. E-professionalism is broadly defined as commitment to carry out professional tasks while adhering to ethical principles and care for patient’s well- being during online social activities (Kaczmarczyk, Chuang, Dugoff, 2013). Given the lack of research in the fields of e- professionalism of health professionals in Croatia, the interdisciplinary research group founded by the Croatian Science Foundation (Hrvatska Zaklada za Znanost) has launched a project entitled "Dangers and Benefits of Social Networks: E-Professionalism of Healthcare Workers" (SMePROF Project). The five-year project that started in 2018 has recently gathered data of the first part of quantitive research via survey conducted on sample of 650 students of medicine and dental medicine in Zagreb. The results indicate that respondents are very active on social networks and that there is no clear picture of what e-professionalism is. That opens up an opportunity for intervention in form of organizing college education for e- professionalism.