In patient care, nurses and health care workers have to defend the privacy of their patients and because social media and social apps are here to stay, nurses need to know how to use social media the correct way.
For many people Twitter, Facebook, NurseTogether, etc. are great places to get information and voice their opinions; however nurses need to understand the benefits and the risks of social networking so they don’t undermine their own professional nursing reputation or their profession.
- Never expose a patient’s information.
- Never discuss what is going on with a co-worker specially by using their name.
- Never share a photo of a patient on social media.
- It is never a good idea to provide medical advice through social media.
Social Media is a great way for nurses to research information for nursing education opportunities and conferences to attend. It is also a way to stay in touch with people you meet at nursing events. I have attended many business training events where I met nursing professionals in person that I had connected with on social networking sites and they have been enriching experiences.
Social media and blogging, in particular, has given me a connection to the world that I would never have otherwise. I am able to meet and become friends with people based purely upon our common interests without any dependence on our relative geographies. It has also shown me views of other nurses and what either frustrates them in nursing or drives their passion as a nurse. It can be a place to uplift and encourage nurses that some days will be hard but the ones that keep us in professional nursing are the ones that make us smile and touch our hearts. Nurses connect with social media because there are times when we need to refuel our own spirit, and it’s helpful to see that you’re not the only one feeling a certain way.
If you are openly a nursing professional on social media, chances are you are passionate about nursing and health care. You can use this passion to inspire others to be passionate about nursing as well. This can increase job satisfaction among nurses and improve the care they provide. A happy nurse makes for happy patients with better outcomes.
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