The Impact of Social Media on Nursing- Professional Conduct, Recruitment, and Legal Implications

With technological advances in recent years, social media platforms have been continually diversifying and are now even applicable in business and professional activities. Following this, social media users can share all kinds of information. There are various social media platforms, including Snapchat, Instagram, telegram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter. The platforms give the users the freedom to post anything and for which the information may be used to evaluate professionalism (Barnabale et al., 2018). In certain circumstances, the companies and hiring bodies may go through the applicants’ social media platforms to evaluate their values as portrayed on the social media platforms. Should someone be found to have unprofessional posts, the companies or the hiring body cannot hire the individual. For this reason, it is crucial to be cautious with what is posted on social media platforms and ensure the posts are not against the practice guidelines. For nurses and healthcare professionals, social media platforms should be as professional as required.

Assessment of Social Media Identifying Unprofessional Items

I am not a social media person. I have a Facebook page that has been dormant since I created it. I have no profile picture, personal information, or birthdate. I have never posted anything on the page or had any conversation that may be unprofessional, or that was detrimental to my profession. However, while scrolling through the Facebook posts of other users, I came across posts that appeared unprofessional. A person posted about his practice as a midwife and how he dislikes patients coming unshaven. I felt that was too much for a professional to post. That post appeared very sensitive to come from a professional.

Nurse Responsibility to Uphold a Standard of Conduct Consistent With Nursing Profession in Personal Life

In nursing practice, nurses must uphold ethics and values in corporate and social life. In a healthcare facility, the image displayed by a nurse represents the kind of service offered in the organization. Besides, the nurses are caregivers and are expected to advise the patients on healthy lifestyles, including social life (Keele, 2019). It would be heartening to find posts of a nurse directed toward an unhealthy lifestyle. To achieve better outcomes, the nurses should lead by example. According to Theodos & Sitting (2021), the HIPPA laws aim to protect the patients’ information to maintain confidentiality. Therefore, a nurse can easily find themselves in a disciplinary meeting and even lose their practice license due to a violation of the patient’s confidentiality. Confidentiality is a very important value in nursing practice because it gives the patients confidence to seek medical assistance without hesitance. Besides, the ANA code of ethics also emphasizes maintaining the patients’ privacy throughout the nursing practice. In summary, the HIPPA laws help maintain the standards of healthcare services by valuing confidentiality.

Human Value and Dignity for Others Consistent with a Christian Worldview

Initially, when I created my Facebook page, I intended to share the bible readings and interpretations to spread God’s word. I was born in a Christian family and grew up in church. I love reading the bible and thought it was wise to share the bible readings on the Facebook page for everyone on Facebook to read. Subsequently, I posted a bible verse and asked people to interpret it. However, I didn’t get as many reactions as I had expected. Being that I am not much into social media, I stopped posting. However, whenever I read through people’s posts, I rarely react or comment. I am against people, especially healthcare providers, posting things that do not observe human dignity and value. For instance, other users post photos of patients in the background of the hospital. The patients appearing in their social media posts without consent is unethical. Further, when I read through the posts and don’t condemn, I will continue being offended. Therefore, I should learn to condemn what is unprofessional to ensure human dignity and values are observed.

References

Barnable, A., Cunning, G., & Parcon, M. (2018). Nursing students’ perceptions of confidentiality, accountability, and e-professionalism in relation to Facebook. Nurse Educator, 43(1), 28-31. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNE.000000000000044

The Impact of Social Media on Nursing- Professional Conduct, Recruitment, and Legal Implications