With social networking sites playing a larger role in our lives, some medical school and residency programs are searching applicants' Facebook and Twitter pages as part of the evaluation process. Should medical school and residency admissions committees be allowed to do this? It this behavior an invasion of privacy? Or are public Facebook and Twitter posts fare game in the admissions process? They jury is still out on these questions, but according to a recent
British Medical Journal article, some medical schools are in fact checking social networking sites when evaluating applicants.
Whether or not you agree with medical school and residency admissions committees checking applicants social networking profiles and posts, you should treat all public information on the Internet as if it will be read by anyone and everyone. If you think a Facebook or Twitter post won't looks good to an admissions committee, perhaps you shouldn't post. Monitor your social networking profile just like you check and recheck a resume.
