Social Media and Professionalism - "The Sweet Spot"

Is there room for professionalism and a personal social media presence? What do you use your social media for? This was a question that I was faced with in my first Masters program course. Doing a "social media audit", I did discover that yes, there is room for both, a personal and professional social media presence. Does this mean that because I am on my "personal Facebook page that I forget about all professionalism and air all my personal opinions about my boss, co-workers or politics? No, but there is a sense of feeling safer to share more personal life events such as my children's accomplishments, my puppy's first walk or "date night" with my husband. None of these postings would call into question my own professionalism as a Mental Health and Substance Use Clinician. Having a social media platform to share my personal stories on is important to me and an enjoyable part of sharing my life with family and friends.

I am passionate about my work and mental health in general. I like reading information about new treatment modalities, people in the world making strides to change perspectives and stigmas surrounding mental health. I have never thought about using a social media platform to reach others who share the same passions for making changes in health care. This is my opportunity, this blog , my new Twitter feed and my much neglected LinkedIn profile. Why have I not been using this media to share my perspectives on my profession and health care in general? I am probably scared, scared to be judged, scared to be not enough and scared to put myself out there for other professionals to see. This media is new to me, using curation tools? A curation tool is used to help bloggers, writers, social media celebrities find relevant content for social media platforms. Take Mendeley for example, this is a research manager that allows students and professionals to neatly organize and manage relevant journal articles and research papers. There is a "Word Plug in" that makes citations and referencing much easier then they used to be. Where was this in my undergrad degree?

Working for a health authority, we have a social media policy that all employees read and sign as they are hired. Asking the employee to keep in mind their own professionalism and of course the values and ethics of the employer. Keeping this is mind is so important as it could be grounds for progressive discipline up to and including the content of the post. There is also the person's own professional body that would have its own guidelines and policies regarding social media and portrayal of a certain profession. I feel that I do have an obligation to uphold my professionalism when I am on social media and to keep in mind that anyone could be reading what I post.

So, is there room for both? Sharing a funny meme about cats and your latest journal article? Yes, pick your space and know your audience. It really can be so valuable to share reputable information related to health care and your profession.