Being a Millenial means I’ve grown up in the digital age and I’m very familiar with social media. I consider myself tech-savvy and see the advantages of using technology to improve my professional identity. Social media has the potential to enhance your career and should be used as a marketing tool to positively advertise oneself. Sreenivasan (2017) from The New York Times believes, “Social media was once mostly just for fun, but not any more.” I’ve carefully constructed a brand on my business Instagram account, travel.alexandra, where I showcase my travel photos. I’m fortunate to have gained attention and built a platform with over 22,000 followers; this has allowed me to post advertisements in order to help fund my adventures. When promoting businesses such as a restaurant, hotel, or tour company, I ensure that I have properly vetted them and would not regret supporting their company. I combined my hobbies of travelling and photography into a means of earning money and being exposed to different opportunities. Profoundly interacting with your audience and connecting with more people allows you to explore other viewpoints and discover new trends or ideas (Sreenivasan, 2017).
Various social media platforms are effective at creating opportunities for networking (Masson & Ross, 2017). LinkedIn is considered to be a more serious platform and is particularly beneficial for expanding your professional network with industry specialists and experts (Sreenivasan, 2017). Up until the creation of this ePortfolio, LinkedIn was the only website I used to advertise my career. Having a portfolio online allows me to distribute information with incredible ease to a larger audience. For example, I'm able to highlight my professional values.
I try to use “netiquette” and post content that is not harmful or could be misconstrued. Avoiding bad optics is not simply to prevent embarrassment. Misrepresenting yourself, your profession, or your employer can have unintended consequences. There are ethical and legal risks associated with poor social media use (Masson & Ross, 2017). An appropriate social media presence should aim to optimize opportunities for you.
Being inappropriate online can negatively impact how others view your professionalism and integrity (Masson & Ross, 2017). As a Neurophysiology Technologist, my top priority is patient care. Every patient deserves to be treated with respect and should have confidence in their healthcare provider to give non-judgmental and accurate information. If your online behaviour reflects that of someone with prejudice or intolerant views then your patients cannot trust you. For example, in scientific debates, those that use aggressive language are viewed as less credible and less trustworthy (Konig & Jucks, 2019). Your ability to provide a high quality service loses credibility if your online behaviour is dishonourable and unethical.
Respecting the values of your employer and affiliated organizations helps ensure that you maintain a dignified reputation. I work at Vancouver General Hospital. The policy for Vancouver Coastal Health (2017) requires those that have identified themselves as employees to clearly state a disclaimer such as “The views and opinions expressed are solely my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer.” My regulatory body, the Canadian Board of Registered Electroencephalograph Technologists (2016), sets the expectations for dealing with various patient populations and the competency profiles. My profession has both provincial and national organizations for which membership is possible. They are the British Columbia Society of Electroneurophysiology Technologists and the Canadian Association of Electroneurophysiology Technologists. I have some degree of protection being a member of the Health Sciences Association. The Health Sciences Association (2019) social media policy reminds users, “All digital communication has the potential of being public beyond intended recipients.” As Assistant Chief Steward, I am learning how our union works to support us and guide us through grievance processes and disciplinary meetings.
I work in several environments within the hospital alongside a huge variety of professionals. Most commonly, the Neurology Ward, Seizure Investigation Unit, Operating Room, Outpatient Laboratory, and Intensive Care Unit. There is a sense of connectedness between healthcare workers; we each perform our specific task to a gold standard of care to ensure the patient has the best outcome. This reflection has encouraged me to maintain a professional identity and appreciate the contributions of the numerous professionals within the Canadian healthcare system.
Canadian Board of Registration of Electroencephalograph Technologists. (2016).
Minimal Technical Standards and Guidelines. Retrieved January 23, 2021 from
Health Sciences Association (2019). Guidelines for Social Media Use by HSA
Chapters and Members. Retrieved January 23, 2021 from https://hsabc.org/policies
Konig, L., & Jucks, R. (2019). Hot topics in science communication: Aggressive language
decreases trustworthiness and credibility in scientific debates. Public Understanding of
Science, 28(4), 401-406. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662519833903
Masson, F.M. & Ross, E. (2017). Professionalism and Social Media in the 21st Century. In
T. Geraint (Ed.), Professionalism: Perspective and practices of the 21st century (pp. 77-100).
Nova Science.
Sreenivasan, S. (2017). How to Use Social Media in Your Career. The New York Times:Business.
Retrieved January 16, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/guides/business/social-media-
Vancouver Coastal Health. (2017). Social Media, Websites and Online Communication. Retrieved
January 23, 2021 from http://shop.healthcarebc.ca/vch/VCHPolicies/D-00-11-30010.pdf
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