Paeds Cases · professional-practice-and-evidence
Declining a boundary challenge from an adolescent patient — OSCE
OSCE on declining a social media friend request from a 14-year-old patient and redirecting an after-hours message from her mother, maintaining the therapeutic frame with warmth and clarity.
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Target exams
MRCPCH ClinicalRACP DCERCPSC Pediatrics
Prompt
A 14-year-old patient with a chronic condition has sent you a friend request on Instagram; at the next clinic visit the mother mentions it and asks whether you also accept WhatsApp messages for clinical questions instead of using the clinic's after-hours number.
Station brief (8–10 minutes)
The mother of your 14-year-old patient raises the friend request at the start of the consultation. She is warm and says her daughter thinks of you as someone she trusts, and that WhatsApp would be "so much easier" than the clinic number. Respond to both the friend request and the WhatsApp request, maintaining the therapeutic relationship while setting a clear professional boundary. Do not invent jurisdiction-specific statutory wording or tribunal procedures. [1] [2]
References5ShowHide
- [1]Ginsburg S Professional Boundaries. JAMA, 2016.PMID 27784099
- [2]Bird S Managing professional boundaries. Australian family physician, 2013.PMID 24024230
- [3]Vukušić Rukavina T Dangers and Benefits of Social Media on E-Professionalism of Health Care Professionals: Scoping Review. Journal of medical Internet research, 2021.PMID 34662284
- [5]Swartz MK Professional Conduct and Social Media. Journal of pediatric health care, 2016.PMID 27094984
- [10]Chaet D Ethical practice in Telehealth and Telemedicine. Journal of general internal medicine, 2017.PMID 28653233