Today’s society has brought about several digital communication channels, especially social media. Social media platforms can be helpful to nurses in several professional advancements, including connecting with other nurses, sharing ways of practicing, and many other ways that add value to their professional careers. However, nurses need to employ the utmost responsibility in using social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and many others. The responsibility applies to use social media platforms either at a private or public level. I have used social media, especially Facebook, to share pictures of my private life, some of which can compromise my level of responsibility as a nurse. I have specifically shared alcohol drinking moments on social media, some of which show a terrible example to the society.
Why Nurses have a responsibility to Uphold Standard
It is the responsibility of all healthcare employees, including nurses, to uphold a standard of conduct. Nurses should work and conduct themselves in a manner that portrays themselves, their profession, and the healthcare facilities they represent. Specifically, nurses can use technology and social media platforms to improve service delivery to patients. Therefore, upholding standards is essential in creating a good relationship of promoting such quality service. Nurses can use social media platforms to upload content to educate their followers and the general public on certain important healthcare practices. This implies the tendency of teaching the public on certain vital ways to handle situations that require care. Examples of lessons nurses can share with the public are informed on how to treat wounds, how to handle certain patients. Therefore, maintaining a good profile is useful for increasing the value of messages shared by nurses on social media. For example, if a nurse portrays themselves as an advocator for alcoholism, the public may not take their messages seriously.
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Nurses should also conduct themselves professionally on social media to ensure that they adhere to the provisions of the law on patient privacy and confidentiality. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is a set of laws that all nurses and other healthcare workers should preserve. Nurses should avoid sharing patient information with social media because, by that, they violate the privacy of such patients (Mariano et al., 2018). This implies using names and descriptions of patients in a text to reveal to the public their identity. In addition to that, nurses and other healthcare workers ought to specifically avoid sharing videos, photographs of patients on their social media accounts (Barrett, 2019). Photos and videos reveal the identity of patients and their medical condition, and therefore revealing that information violates their individual privacy rights provided for by HIPAA.
My Social Media Activity
My social media activity involves a variety of activities worth applause, such that reflect utter responsibility and promote Christian values. At the same time, I have some activities on social media that are regrettable and such that ought to be improved. In certain instances, I have shared important nursing information, such as how to handle nose bleeding and how to care for patients with fresh wounds. In other instances, I have commented on public inquiries where other social media users sought important information on how to handle some young type I diabetes patients. The above are some positive social media activities. I can say that I did promote my profession and Christianity.
Unfortunately, other activities have been negative and regrettable. Sharing instances of alcohol drinking is one such instance that I ought to improve on as a nurse. Social media is composed of people of diverse generations, including young school-going children. Sharing alcohol drinking moments may encourage them to venture into drinking. Moreover, other people can also get into irresponsible drinking as a result of my influence. For that reason, I will improve and make less of such postings.
References
Barrett, D. (2019). Nurses need to be aware of their professional responsibilities when engaging with social media. Evidence-based nursing , 22 (1), 28-28.
Mariano, M. C. O., Maniego, J. C. M., Manila, H. L. M. D., Mapanoo, R. C. C., Maquiran, K. M. A., Macindo, J. R. B., ... & Torres, G. C. S. (2018). Social media use profile, social skills, and nurse-patient interaction among registered nurses in tertiary hospitals: a structural equation model analysis. International journal of nursing studies , 80 , 76-82.
