Social Media Flashcards
Blur professional boundaries
-not a good idea to “friend” patient on Facebook-even if you are not “friends” with someone on Facebook, they can still see your post/photos
Violate patient confidentiality
-cannot post images of patient, patient name, patient room number, or any other identifying demographics (age, sex, diagnosis, etc.).-even images that have been deleted can be retrieved.-it may be the patients right to disclose their personal information but it’s not yours!
Flaw professional image of nursing
-you represent nursing even when you’re not at the hospital.-if we want to be respected as professionals we need to act like one. -if we want our patients to trust us with their lives, we must prove ourselves trustworthy.
Harm team based patient care
-patient rely on us to take care of them as a team. By engaging in conversation that does not promote healthy team dynamics, we are doing our patients a disservice.-mocking other members of the interdisciplinary team is not professional.-talking bad about dayshift or night shift or other units does not make patients feel comfortable in it tells the community that reads your post that where you work isn’t a safe environment.
Jeopardizing nursing career
-employers look at social media sites when interviewing.-if you post anything that can be considered “lateral violence” or unprofessional (disparaging remarks about employers or coworkers) this could be grounds for termination.-hospitals don’t want you posting about how shortstaffed your unit is or how unfair your charge nurse or nurse manager is.
Jeopardizing nursing career cont.
-there are both state and federal laws about protecting patient privacy and confidentiality. Violations of these laws could result in civil or even criminal penalties including fines and or jail time.-patients could take legal action for violations of patient privacy.-even if an employer likes the employee who had a lapse in judgment about social media sharing they will still suspend or terminate the employee due to legal constraints.
Use caution when interacting on social media and before posting anything consider the following:
1.how could this affect my patient?2. How does this reflect on me as a nurse?3. How does this contribute to the professional image of nursing as a whole?
Benefits of social media in nursing
-Professional development: RSS feeds from nursing or medical sites can serve as continuing education for nurses.-social networking: join national nursing organizations and meet other like minded nurses on the organization social media page.-Twitter updates: many nurses/doctors have Twitter accounts where they frequently share links to helpful websites and current research and evidence-based practice.
Social media risk
-violate patient confidentiality-blur professional boundaries between the patient and nurse-flaw professional image of nursing-Harm team based patient care-jeopardize nursing career
