Healthcare professionals across the world have been flooding social media with pictures of themselves in their bikinis and bathing suits following a recent study that described such content as 'unprofessional'.
Under the rising hashtag #MedBikini, medics have posted a variety of snaps showing themselves relaxing by the pool or enjoying a cocktail as retaliation to the offending document, which claimed content that included pics of health professionals 'holding/consuming alcohol' or wearing 'inappropriate attire' could be 'potentially unprofessional'.
The report - published in the August 2020 edition of the Journal of Vascular Surgery - said that unprofessional social media posts could affect how a doctor is perceived by patients and staff alike.
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According to the study's objective: "It has been demonstrated that publicly available social media content may affect patient choice of physician, hospital, and medical facility. Furthermore, such content has the potential to affect professional reputation among peers and employers."
The study also saw a group of male doctors using a medical directory to compile a list of graduating vascular surgery trainees from 2016 to 2018, and scouring their social media accounts for what they considered to be 'clearly' or 'potentially unprofessional' pics.
Offending material that falls into the former camp includes intoxicated appearance, unlawful behaviour or possession of drugs, while the latter is listed as everything from enjoying a drink and swearing to discussing controversial political or religious comments and social topics.
In its conclusion, the report advises that 'young surgeons should be aware of the permanent public exposure of unprofessional content that can be accessed by peers, patients, and current/future employers'.
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Unsurprisingly, thousands of doctors, nurses and other members of the healthcare workforce are unimpressed by the report and have since been using social media to both highlight the study's questionable intentions and fight back at its conclusion.
That includes Trisha Greenhalgh, Professor of Primary Care at the University of Oxford, who tweeted a swimsuit selfie alongside the caption: "Ha! Found a selfie in a bikini. To the 28-year-old 'researcher' who says this is unprofessional for women doctors, I'm old enough to be your grandmother. #MedBikini"
Many also took the chance to point out the flaws in the study, with one writing: "The #MedBikini paper was disgustingly unethical. It involved 3 men who created fake profiles to snoop on their peers and judge them as 'unprofessional' according to their eyes."
Although the researchers didn't specifically refer to women in the report, many have criticised it for perpetuating sexist beliefs and misogynistic ideals.
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One doctor wrote:"In case you wanna know what's happening in doctor twitter today: a 'scientific' publication just announced that holding alcoholic drinks and wearing bikinis are unprofessional behaviours for a doctor.
"Wait til they hear that med schools started letting women wear pants!"
According to The Boston Globe, on Friday (24 June) the authors of the study apologised and even called for a retraction of their own work following the backlash. Although that hasn't stopped #MedBikini from trending online, with posts continuing to drop thick and fast.Featured Image Credit: TwitterTopics: sexism, Social Media