SAUDI ARABIAN HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS' PERCEPTIONS OF USING LINKEDIN FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
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Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine the perspectives of healthcare professionals in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia regarding the use of LinkedIn for professional development. Personnel and Methods: In November 2018, a cross-sectional study survey was conducted among healthcare professionals residing in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Initially, 346 individuals were sent the survey; of those, 312 responded to the questionnaire. 184 (61%) of these respondents were LinkedIn users who satisfied the inclusion criteria. Results The results of the study revealed that 61% of the respondents utilised LinkedIn for a variety of objectives, in that order of decreasing percentage: networking (26.61%), job searching (23.66%), knowledge exchange (13.98%), self-promotion (12.37%), professional development (11.56%), health promotion (4.03%), and a combination of the aforementioned objectives (7.8%). In terms of enhancing professional knowledge (64.41 percent), creativity (58.19%), professional skills (53.11%), decision-making (48.59%), quality and patient safety (42.37%), critical thinking (42.37%), and problem-solving abilities (39.55%), the participants expressed that LinkedIn was advantageous. Additionally, it was found that 69% of LinkedIn users had obtained job proposals via the platform and 40% of LinkedIn users had participated in online courses and training programmes featured on the platform. To conclude, LinkedIn was utilised by the majority of healthcare professionals in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia for the following purposes: networking, job hunting, knowledge sharing, self-promotion, professional development, and health promotion. Furthermore, a significant portion of the participants enrolled in online courses and professional development programmes that were publicised on LinkedIn. These individuals regarded LinkedIn as a valuable resource for enhancing their expertise, ingenuity, and professional proficiencies. In general, these findings indicated that healthcare practitioners in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia hold the perception that LinkedIn can function as a mechanism for advancing their careers. Additionally, they believed that in order to accomplish this objective, it was critical to increase awareness regarding the prospective benefits of LinkedIn as a tool for professional growth.
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