Using Social Media

Most employers and organisations will have a social media policy guidance. We recommend that you check and adhere to any local recommendations and you will also need to meet your regulatory body requirements. You can view the  HCPC social media guidance on their website.

Certainly! Social media offers rich opportunities for continuing professional development, including the opportunity to discuss professional issues with other occupational therapists and your professional body. The HCPC will accept social media activity as part of your CPD portfolio if you are selected for audit, and you can discuss with the HCPC and with RCOT’s Education Manager for Lifelong Learning on how best to record and reference this activity. Remember to conform to confidentiality requirements.

Some people prefer to completely separate their professional life from their personal life. You should check the terms of use of the platform you are using, however; Facebook, for example, does not allow multiple accounts and if you are found to be using more than one profile these may be deleted.

Today’s professional landscape relies heavily on networking and social communication, and one unified online persona will be more beneficial to you in this regard. Those interacting with you on social networks, who may be prospective employers, potential service users, colleagues or commissioners, are likely to respond more positively to you if they have a sense of the whole person. If you are using social media to mostly discuss issues relevant to occupational therapy and healthcare, there is no harm in also making occasional mention of your love for, say, baking or photography.

Not only does this give your followers an insight into the real you, and a sense that you are a real person and not a faceless robot, but it also demonstrates the value of occupation! Furthermore, if followers discover that you have multiple accounts, they may wonder what you have to hide.

It is often easy to locate multiple accounts, so it may not be possible to keep content posted on your “personal” account hidden from those following you on your “professional” account. You should still maintain a level of responsible, professional behaviour on your personal account and you should never discuss individual service users on social media.

Some social media users do use a pseudonym to protect their identity. If you have a strong reason for wishing to do so, then it is certainly possible. However, we would strongly advise you to use your real name or a name by which you can be recognised. This makes you identifiable and accountable, and more credible. It also allows you to build a professional network which is accessible to you offline as well as online, and to build a professional reputation.

There are many benefits to identifying the type of work you do in your biography (e.g. “OT Support Worker in secure mental health unit”). However, if you are going to list the particular organisation or Trust where you work on a very open site like Twitter, then you should let your line manager know as they may consider that you are then officially representing the organisation in your social media activity. A note in your biography for example  “All opinions expressed here are my own” will not provide immunity if you express unprofessional views and it is safer to consider that all interactions are professional.

• LinkedIn will include details of your work history as that is its function.
• Facebook encourages users to list their employer on their profile.
• Twitter allows you to complete a short biography where you can add your profile.

By following other people and joining in conversations. Find people who you are interested in – search for fellow occupational therapists, healthcare sector workers, hospitals, charities, etc. See who they are following to give you more ideas of who may be useful to you. If a conversation is happening around a topic that you are interested in or knowledgeable about, don’t be afraid to join in. Look out for useful hashtag discussions or groups where you can discuss issues with like-minded people. Keep sharing useful content that your followers will want to share. As people begin to notice the value of your discussions, more people will want to follow you.

A service can provide generic information via social media e.g. how to look after your wrist splint, but an individual should never offer one-to-one advice with a service user. An individual (personal account) should not develop a social media ‘relationship’ with a service user. Normal professional behaviour applies online as well as offline and generic advice through social media should only be done with your organisation/manager’s consent. Never disclose any personal information about your service users online. If someone asks for your advice, you may want to signpost useful sources of information, such as the RCOT website, or avenues for finding an occupational therapist, such as their GP or the RCOTSS-Independent Practice directory.

The RCOT Professional standards for occupational therapy practice, conduct and ethics Section 5.8 explains the need to maintain a professional relationship with service users. Connecting on a personal networking site like Facebook is not compatible with a strictly professional relationship.

Be aware that service users may choose to follow you on Twitter, and you will have no control over that. You will not see their tweets unless you also follow them, but they will see yours.

You may be able to, however, you should not speak for your organisation without first discussing it with your line manager. It is not advisable to comment on matters of policy without first discussing the issue with the members of staff in your organisation responsible for determining that policy.   Also, you should not share documents or publications without checking that these are intended for free public availability.

Most platforms have security settings that allow you to restrict who can see your content, and most allow you to send private messages, which are only visible to the sender and receiver and do not show up in public newsfeeds.

It is important to note, however, that these methods are not infallible. It is best to assume that nothing you post online is ever entirely private.