Professionalism and Social Media

Professionalism and Social Media

Grand Canyon University: NRS-451VN

Professionalism and Social Media

Individuals around the world are continuously joining social media such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter. As social media continues to greatly impact the life of professional nurses in their personal life, it has grown significantly in their professional life. This platform has given individuals the opportunity to share information not only from their personal and social life, but also to give insight to their career and professional (Edge, 2017). It is critical not only for the job seeker but also by any professional, to learn effective and appropriate social media use, to steer clear from unprofessional use that could lead to a negative impact of personal image, reputation, or professional career aspects.

Evaluation of Personal Social Media

A thorough evaluation of my personal social media, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest, most of my posts are relate to personal life, rather than work related. Privacy settings are kept for all posted information to be seen only by “Friends”. Pictures and captions are kept mostly to family and friends, social gatherings, and church events. I noticed some pictures that show family members and friends consuming alcohol, but no pictures of myself doing so. Although these are adults and being legal, this could send a negative picture of myself with influence to professionalism. Personal postings or the add by others to their social media account needs to be carefully considered at any time. As stated by Balestra, 2018, “Inappropriate use of social media can create legal problems for nurses, including job termination, malpractice claims, and disciplinary action from boards of nursing (BON), which could negatively impact their nursing license and career.”

Ethical Considerations of Nurses and the use of Social Media

There is no question, as professional nurses, we have the responsibility to stand by and support professional and ethical behaviors as well as standards that were established by various health organizations, such as the American Nurses Association (ANA). It is important to keep a professional, public, and private image, as it creates the framework that is continuously viewed by everyone around us and in the nursing profession. As stated by the ANA, nurses do not only are responsible to promote higher standards in health promotion but also establish and continue to maintain a positive individual and professionally kept image and character. Disciplinary actions, such as termination and loss of license, can occur with the failure to abide by and hold those ethical and professional standards (American Nurse Association, 2015). HIPAA law is another factor for nurses to be aware of at all times, as violations of exposing private, confidential information of patients can result in serious consequences. Although this happens more frequently one would think, most HIPAA violations are unintentional and the issue is dealt with internally at the workplace. Patient privacy is very critical, as it has resulted in healthcare facilities to create and implement HIPAA social media policies to prevent healthcare practitioners from sharing personal and confidential information to the public (American Nurse Association, 2015).

Improvement of Personal Social Media

After analysis completion of my personal social media account, a great part of posts reflects my personal life activities with family and friends, as well as church. When posting comments, as well as pictures, I prior ask myself if I would appreciate the published comments or captures. This process allows me to analyze my actions prior to executing and align with the expected respect to human values and guidelines set by nursing profession, without regard in background, values, or religious beliefs (National Council of State Boards of Nursing, 2018).

Improvement can always be made to one’s actions and habits. To improve my personal social media activities, I need to continue to set a reminder and simple self-awareness goals as I am a professional nurse, and I am upheld to those standards. Social media platforms are great communication tools for the nursing profession. With that it must be used in a professional and appropriate manner, keeping in mind that once posted online, things are always traceable whether positive or negative.

References

American Nurses Association. (2015). Code of Ethics for Nurse with Interpretive Statements. Retrieved from https://www.nursingworld.org/coe-view-only

Balestra, M. L. (2018). Social Media Missteps Cout Put Your Nursing License At Risk, March 2018 Vol. 13 No. 3

National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) (2018). A Nurse’s Guide to the Use of Social Media. Retrieved from https://www.ncsbn.org/NCSBN_SocialMedia.pdf