#Medbikini started trending on twitter after a scientifically written article published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Vascular Surgery examined social network behavior.  The article entitled, “Prevalence of unprofessional social media content among young vascular surgeons,” intended to objectively and scientifically provide answers to “evaluate the extent of unprofessional social media content among recent vascular surgery residents and fellows.” In short, social media accounts were created by investigators and then used to search and analyze the platforms of young surgeons for “unprofessional behavior.” This data was then collected and analyzed further by screeners and submitted to the editorial board at the Journal of Vascular Surgery for review.  Those editors then approved the article for publication (which has since been retracted after the firestorm).

The unprofessional behavior was deemed to be HIPAA violations, intoxication, unlawful behavior, possession of drugs, profanity, or offensive comments about work.  Potentially unprofessional content included:  holding alcohol, inappropriate attire, censored profanity, controversial political or religious comments, and controversial social topics.  Inappropriate attire included pictures in “underwear, provocative Halloween costumes, and provocative posing in bikinis/swimwear.” The crux to the outcry is that the criteria were created by the authors themselves and was, therefore, flawed.

article source: http://chatchatty.com/index.php/blogs/1257/7973/medbikini-unmasks-bias-and-forces-the-retraction-of-a-journal