USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA BY NURSES 2

Use of Social Media by Nurses Nurses often go through experiences that are emotionally taxing almost on a daily basis.Previously, they turned to their workplace colleagues, family members, and friends to debriefand reflect on these experiences. However, with the advent of social media platforms such asTwitter and Facebook, many nurses turn to these platforms to […]

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Use of Social Media by Nurses

Nurses often go through experiences that are emotionally taxing almost on a daily basis.
Previously, they turned to their workplace colleagues, family members, and friends to debrief
and reflect on these experiences. However, with the advent of social media platforms such as
Twitter and Facebook, many nurses turn to these platforms to reflect on some of the difficult
experiences that they go through (Maciura & Wade, 2019). Unfortunately, sometimes they use
these platforms inappropriately.
When going through some of the posts and conversations that I have had on various
social media platforms, I noticed some of my posts and comments were inappropriate under
nursing professional standards. In particular, there was a post I made a few years ago about a
rude patient I had had to deal with during. The patient was a middle-aged man who had been
driving while drunk. His young son was in the car. The man lost control of the car and had an
accident. Luckily the injuries were only minor. When he was brought to the hospital, I was angry
that he would drive around with his young son while drunk. In a respectful manner I explained to
him why I objected to his behavior. He did not take my words kindly and became very abusive.
Later that day I posted on Facebook my encounter with the patient together with his photo and
that of the kid. It was a post made out of anger and the following day I deleted it once I realized
my mistake.
Even though I deleted it, the post was inappropriate because it violated patient privacy.
Professional standards require nurses to maintain privacy of patients at all times (Ferguson,
2017). This privacy includes not just medical records but also any other information that reveals

USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA BY NURSES 3
aspects of patient’s identity to unauthorized persons (Stott, 2015). Thus, sharing a patient’s
photos on social media is a gross violation of their privacy rights.
My decision to post a patient’s pictures and discuss them on social media was not a
responsible one. Nurses have a responsibility to conduct themselves both in their personal and
professional lives in ways that are consistent with professional standards (Stott, 2015). Such
conduct presents to the public a good image of their profession and the hospital organization that
they work for (Stott, 2015). When patients are not confident that a given healthcare facility will
afford them privacy, they may decide to go to other hospitals where they will be treated with
respect and dignity. Additionally, when nurses do not conduct themselves in an ethical manner
they lose trust of patients which significantly reduces the quality of care that they can provide
them with (Maciura & Wade, 2019).
It is also worth noting that conduct that violates patient privacy is not only unethical and
unprofessional but is also against HIPAA rules on privacy. HIPAA rules require healthcare
professionals to keep patients medical information private and out of reach from unauthorized
persons (Ferguson, 2017). Failure to adhere to this rule may lead to penalization of the guilty
healthcare professional. Such penalization may include termination of employment of the
responsible professional.
While my use of social media was wrong when I posted about the rude patient, there are
many instances that I have used social media in a manner that reflects Christian and professional
values of maintaining dignity and human value of patients. I have on numerous occasions shared
my own experiences with other nurses about various conditions that I have dealt with and how
best to approach them. In discussing these issues I make sure that I do not mention any patient’s

USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA BY NURSES 4
name and neither do I post their pictures or reveal any of their medical information. I do this not
just out of professionalism but also out of my belief that patients deserve to be treated with
respect and dignity. Just because they are sick does not take away any bit of their worth as
human beings.
There are, therefore, many ways in which I have used social media in good ways. There
are other activities, however, that I could still improve on. One of them is increasing my use of
social media to offer general education to the public on a variety of health issues such as
nutrition, physical exercises, and importance of having regular medical check ups.
In conclusion, use of social media by nurses is a phenomenon that is likely to increase in
prevalence in future as social media platforms increase in popularity. It is important that even as
nurses use social media they adhere to professional rules and standards. Used appropriately,
social media has the potential of strengthening patient-centred and population health approach to
healthcare.

USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA BY NURSES 5

References

Ferguson, C. (2017). Nursing and social media. Contexts of Nursing: An Introduction, 4, 61-77.
Maciura, J., & Wade, A. (2019). How Off-Duty Use of Social Media May Lead to Professional
Discipline. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 9(4), 31-33.
Stott, I. (2015). Social media in the workplace: Approach with caution. Nursing and Residential
Care, 17(9), 519-521.

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