Professionalism and Social Media Essay
Professionalism and Social Media Essay
The posts that might be considered inappropriate based on the professional standards of nursing
Social media is an influential communication tool that nurses can use to communicate with friends, family, and peers. Yet it also offers a scheme of exploiting the privacy and dignity of patients which can expose nurses to disciplinary or legal action. A post of how the day was tiresome and how the patients were irritating is a post that might be considered inappropriate based on professional nursing standards. After I reached home after a busy day at work, I posted on my Facebook page how I was tired and how all the patients I had interacted with on that day were rude. The post could be interpreted as unprofessional because a nurse is not supposed to make negative comments about his or her work or patients as it can damage the professional image. According to Ventolin (2014), the venting or airing of frustrations concerning patients in an online media Is not recommended as it can be harmful to the profession or patient. Professionalism and Social Media Essay
Why nurses have a responsibility to uphold a standard of conduct consistent with the standards governing the profession of nursing at work and in their personal lives
Nurses have the responsibility of upholding a standard of conduct consistent with the standards governing the profession of nursing at work and their personal lives when using social media so as to maintain their personal reputation along with that of the nursing profession. Nurses are not allowed to place or transmit patient information that can be individually identified. For example, nurses are required to have an understanding of their ethical and legal responsibilities, and also the policies of their organizations concerning their obligation to safeguard patient privacy, both offline and online. As Jackson et al (2014) assert violating patient confidentiality and privacy is a major professional and ethical concern for nurses, as it translates to a breach of professional standards of nursing and may lead disciplinary or legal action being taken against a nurse. Nurses must know and comply with professional guidelines for social media use and understand policies and settings connected with the media they utilize.
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Personal conduct like posting a patient’s photo can violate the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) and be considered unprofessional conduct. Posting a photo of a patient without his or her consent violates the confidentiality and privacy of the patient. Sorrentino and Remmert, (2016) claim that HIPPA safeguards the security and privacy of the health information of a person. Privacy is associated with the right and expectation of the patient to treated in a respectful and dignified way. Trust is essential for the building of nurse-patient relationships and patients need to have confidence that their nurse will protect their personal information and dignity. A breach of this trust both intentionally and unintentionally damages the
Posting healthcare information on my Facebook page and Twitter account is a social media activity that reflects Christian values as they relate to respecting human value and dignity for all individuals. This information aims at promotion of nursing profession through education of the public are areas of my social media. I also restrain from posting about my patients either in a positive or negative way. Respect for patient privacy and confidentiality demonstrates that I respect the dignity and maintain the dignity of patients and that I respect each individual as a unique person. According to Parandeh et al (2016), within the nursing profession, human dignity implies acknowledging and showing respect to human individuality along with handling all people as unique humans. Respecting human dignity is a universal requirement for patients as well as nurses. Professionalism and Social Media Essay
Engaging my audience in appropriate ways is an area of my social media activity that could be improved. Engaging my audience may include responding to their comments and addressing criticisms and complaints. Another area that would be improved is maintaining appropriate and clear boundaries. I will not be accepting friend requests of patients on any social network as socializing with patients might be detrimental to my relationship with a patient.
References
Jackson, J., Fraser, R., & Ash, P. (2014). Social Media and Nurses: Insights for Promoting Health for Individual and Professional Use. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 19(3): 2.
Parandeh, A., Khaghanizade, M., Mohammadi, E., & Mokhtari-Nouri, J. (2016). Nurses’ human dignity in education and Practice: An integrated literature review. Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 21(1): 1-8.
Sorrentino, S. & Remmert, L. (2016). Mosby’s Textbook for Nursing Assistants -E-Book. New York: Elsevier Health Sciences.
Ventola, C. (2014). Social Media and Health Care Professionals: Benefits, Risks, and Best Practices. Pharmacy & Therapeutics, 39(7): 491-199.
Professionalism and Social Media Essay
