Published 2026-01-12
Keywords
- Digital Professionalism , Medical Students , Cross-Sectional Analysis
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Abstract
Introduction: Digital professionalism is a growing domain of relevance to medical education in the case when technology and social media form a part of the communication system within healthcare. This cross-sectional study aims at determining the primary determinants of digital professionalism in medical students with regards to educational experience, usage of social media, and attitude toward technology.
Methods: There were 200 medical students, and data were gathered using a standardized online questionnaire on demographics, educational experience, social media usage, technology attitude, and familiarity with digital professionalism. Statistical tests were conducted to look for correlations between them and digital professionalism.
Results: 75% of the students had been trained in digital professionalism and 65% had discussed it in class. Social media usage was high, with 70% using Facebook and 60% using Instagram, and 55% using it daily. Although 80% of the students appreciated the utility of social media in professional growth, 60% of them admitted the difficulty of being professional on social media. Interestingly, though, only 20% noted the unprofessional nature of commenting on patient cases using personal opinions. Correlations were also evident with educational experience (r = 0.45, p < 0.01), use of social media (r = 0.38, p < 0.05), and attitude towards technology (r = 0.52, p < 0.01) with e-professionalism.