My Professional Identity, My Role in Health Care & Social Media...three worlds collide

As I continue my education towards a Master of Health Studies I am on a new journey of developing an e-portfolio and writing a blog. My first blog post will reflect and share my personal thoughts on professionalism, my professional identity, and my role in the health care system in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL). I will also reflect on my current social media presence and goals for future social media use.

My professional identity is based on my career in clinical physiotherapy practice. I am a member of the NL College of Physiotherapists and the Canadian Physiotherapy Association (CPA). I uphold a professional code of ethical conduct including ethical responsibilities to patients, society and the physiotherapy profession. The professional identity I strive for is in line with this code and based on ethical values and professional principles including respect, dignity, respect for autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, responsibility, trustworthiness, integrity and professionalism (CPA, 2018a). In addition, I uphold values of fairness, respect, integrity, connectedness and excellence outlined by my Regional Health Authority (Eastern Health, 2017). Giltinane (2013) recommends that to develop trust, leaders should treat everyone in the way they would wish to be treated. My leadership practice aligns with my values and organizational policies that address privacy & confidentiality as well as social media use.

Throughout my career I have been fortunate to work closely with patients, families and interdisciplinary teams in a variety of practice areas. Reflections on professionalism in practice in MHST/NURS 601 have taught me important lessons. Classmates have commented on the close collaboration, interdependence of team roles and potential conflicts that may arise in practice. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as cited in Naveed & Liaqat (2017), when multiple disciplines work together as a team, they can efficiently enhance the patient’s condition by implementing interprofessional collaboration. Course readings highlight challenges of provincial governments to follow the Canada Health Act adopted in 1984 and need for modernization. An example of health service transition in physiotherapy practice is in Ontario whereby outpatient services were delisted (Gordon et al., 2007). Locally, NL is currently in the process of an external audit of publicly provided physiotherapy services. Flood and Thomas (2016) challenge us to consider service provision that is of value to Canadians, clearer definitions of medical necessity and fair and open processes of health funding. This will require consultation with many stakeholders with evidence and patient centred care guiding policy and decision making.

The NL government, Department of Health and Community Services, is responsible for health services in the province (Government of NL, 2017). I work in Eastern Health, within the Provincial Cancer Care Program (PCCP) and my leadership role encompasses collaboration with patients, families, interdisciplinary teams and managers to improve efficiencies and provide patient centred services. I support a just culture in the workplace and diversity whereby patients, families and staff of varied ethnicity, socioeconomic status and gender are treated equally and feel safe. The PCCP focuses on quality, safety and efficiencies of health care delivery and Program priorities are in line with the NL Government’s newly released priority areas of focus “The Way Forward: Realizing Our Potential” (Government of NL, n.d.).

I have been challenged in post graduate study to consider my social media presence. My social networking is primarily face to face and I have limited expertise with social media to discover or share information. I have given careful consideration to social media tools available for social networking, information sharing and patient education while recognizing that these tools also have risks (Ventola, 2014). CPA’s guideline for social media use acknowledges professional social media merits, but awareness of certain practices is crucial to professional conduct (CPA, 2018b). As a result of my personal social media audit I am compiling and sharing resources relevant to emerging practice issues via a newly created e-portfolio. I am no longer fearful of using social media and will use my employer’s social media policy and CPA’s social media guideline as reference points for practice. I bring my ethical values to the electronic world and my social media presence will be strictly professional with a goal to share knowledge and professional opinions.

In summary, my vision is to live by my core values each and every day. My professional beliefs will guide interactions with patients, families and staff whether it is face to face or via social media. In collaboration with patients, families and colleagues, I am committed to improving the cancer experience of those diagnosed with cancer in NL.

References

Canadian Physiotherapy Association (CPA). (2018a). CPA code of ethics. Retrieved January 25, 2018 from https://physiotherapy.ca/cpa-code-ethics

Canadian Physiotherapy Association (CPA). (2018b). Social media guidelines. Retrieved January 25, 2018 from https://physiotherapy.ca/social-media-guidelines

Eastern Health. (2017). Foundational statements: our values. Retrieved from: http://www.easternhealth.ca/AboutEH.aspx?d=1&id=709&p=73

Flood, C. M. & Thomas, B. P. (2016). Modernizing the Canada Health Act. Ottawa Faculty of Law Working Paper No. 2017-08. Retrieved from https://ssrn.com/abstract=2907029

Giltinane, C. (2013). Leadership styles and theories. Nursing Standard , 27 (41), 35-39. Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/royal-college-of-nursing-rcn/leadership-styles-and-theories-6Izd6HW1gG

Gordon, M., Waines, B., Engehart, J., Montgomery, S., Holyoke, P., Cott, C., . . . Landry, M. (2007). The consequences of delisting publicly funded, community based physical therapy services in Ontario: a health policy analysis. Physiotherapy Canada. 59 (1). Retrieved from http://www.utpjournals.press/doi/abs/10.3138/ptc.59.1.58

Government of Newfoundland & Labrador (NL). (n.d.). The way forward: a vision for sustainability and growth in NL. Retrieved January 24, 2018 from: https://www.gov.nl.ca/pdf/the_way_forward.pdf

Government of Newfoundland & Labrador (NL). (2017). Health and Community Services. Retrieved from http://www.health.gov.nl.ca/health/department/index.html

Naveed, M. & Liaqat, M. (2017). Interprofessional collaboration among rehabilitation professionals. Pakistan Armed Forces Medical Journal. 2017; 67 (6): 908-913. Retrieved from http://www.pafmj.org/art_pdf/5-%203574-%20Dr%20Muhammad%20Naveed%20Babur.pdf

Ventola, L. (2014). Social media and health care professionals: benefits, risks & best practices. Pharmacy and Therapeutics, 39 (7), 491-499. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4103576/