Island Medical University

Island Medical University

Exercise 1 Chapter 4

1. Ethical decision making You are the marketing officer at Sullivan’s Island Medical University. Three employees work in your department—you, the marketing director (your boss, who oversees all marketing/public relations duties), and the marketing media officer (your colleague, who oversees all communications to external audiences). You oversee all in-house communications (i.e., for audiences inside the medical school). Currently, you are writing articles about new residents who have just arrived at Sullivan’s Island Medical University for their surgical rotations. Your articles will be published in the in-house newsletter Take Note in a recurring section titled “Welcome to Our New Docs.” The articles about the new residents include their educational background and some personal information, such as marital status, the names and ages of their children, and their hobbies. To prepare for your interview with resident Patricia Gray, you google her name and find her Facebook page. The photos, captions, and comments on her page indicate that she is a big partier; in several of the photos, she obviously is drinking alcohol. One photo shows her pouring champagne on the head of another woman. Another shows her holding a beer can in one hand and giving the thumbs-up signal with the other. Moreover, she uses profanity throughout her posts.

a. In your position as a marketer in a hospital, do you think Dr. Gray’s Facebook page is an issue that warrants your attention? Why or why not?

b. With reference to the four quadrants model presented in Exhibit 4.1, define where you think this scenario should be classified.

c. Using one of the ethical decision-making models explained in the chapter, explain how you would address this situation.

d. How do you think the AMA policy about physicians and the use of social media (summarized at the top of page 52) relates to Dr. Gray’s Facebook page?