title: Pharmacy faculty members' perspectives on the student/faculty relationship in online social networks.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe pharmacy faculty members' use of the online social network Facebook and compare the perspectives of faculty members with and without Facebook profiles regarding student/faculty relationships.
  
  
  METHODS
  An electronic survey instrument was sent to full-time faculty members (n = 183) at 4 colleges of pharmacy in Ohio seeking their opinions on student/faculty relationships on Facebook. If respondents answered "yes" to having a Facebook profile, they were asked 14 questions on aspects of being "friends" with students. If respondents answered "no," they were asked 4 questions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 95 respondents (52%) to the survey instrument, 44 faculty members (46%) had a Facebook profile, while 51 faculty members (54%) did not. Those who had a profile had been faculty members for an average of 8.6 years, versus 11.4 years for those who did not have a Facebook profile. Seventy-nine percent of faculty members who used Facebook were not "friends" with their students. The majority of respondents reported that they would decline/ignore a "friend" request from a student, or decline until after the student graduated. Although a limited number of faculty members had used Facebook for online discussions, teaching purposes, or student organizations, the majority of universities did not have policies on the use of social networking sites.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Online social network sites are used widely by students and faculty members, which may raise questions regarding professionalism and appropriate faculty/student relationships. Further research should address the student/preceptor relationship, other online social networking sites, and whether students are interested in using these sites within the classroom and/or professional organizations.
authors: James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0004, USA. anne.metzger@uc.edu
authors: Anne H
authors: AH
authors: Metzger
authors: Kristen N
authors: KN
authors: Finley
authors: Timothy R
authors: TR
authors: Ulbrich
authors: James W
authors: JW
authors: McAuley
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004512:Education, Pharmacy; D005178:Faculty; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013339:Students, Pharmacy / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult