Patient Confidentiality and Facebook

In The Ethicist column of the New York Times yesterday, Randy Cohen wrote about medical students posting pictures and comments about patients on Facebook. I am sometimes a bit surprised by what my attending colleagues and friends post about patients, too. Sometimes they write about specific details regarding other physicians, hospital operations, and patient encounters. As medical professionals, shouldn't our integrity and respect extend beyond the clinical arena to Facebook and other online forums?

Click Here to read The Ethicist article.

The Hippocratic Oath: For The MBA Crowd?

Graduating medical school students have been required to take the Hippocratic Oath promising to practice medicine ethically. An interesting article today in the New York Times explains that some business students are now taking "The MBA Oath" with a promise to "create value responsibly and ethically." The creators of this oath hope that "MBAs are respected for their integrity, professionalism and leadership."

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American Medical Association: Virtual Mentor

Take a look at Virtual Mentor, an online ethics journal sponsored by the American Medical Association. A medical student and resident run venture, this resource introduces some useful and intriguing topics. The theme of the journal this month is Business in Medicine with thought provoking articles about medi spas and concierge medicine.

This journal also offers excellent editorial opportunities for medical students and residents.

Read my previous blog post on the importance of mentorship. If you would like an actual advisor rather than a virtual one, please contact me.

MedEdits Employment

Recently we have had several queries regarding employment at MedEdits. I wanted to review our criteria for hiring and emphasize what makes us unique. I also want to emphasize the importance of hiring an ethical company with high moral standards. There are some companies out there who utilize shady methods and are dishonest about their credentials.

Advising and Admissions Consulting:

Dr. Jessica Freedman is the only person at MedEdits who mentors, advises and provides admissions consulting for our clients. We are not hiring any additional consultants but, if we did in the future, we would require applicants to have at least 5 years of experience in medical education and admissions at the attending level. We would also require at least 5 letters of reference from well respected colleagues. To maintain our high moral standards, we would not hire any individuals who currently serve on faculty at any medical school.

Document Editing and Review:

Dr. Freedman reviews and edits all admissions documents. Our editors, who work directly with Dr. Freedman, all have at least 10 years of experience in the writing and publishing industry. We are not hiring any editors currently but, if positions become available, we will not hire current students or recent graduates.

Visit: www.MedEdits.com