Social media plays a significant role in the lives of nurses in both their professional and personal lives. Additionally, social media is now considered a mainstream part of the process for recruiting and hiring candidates
Social media plays a significant role in the lives of nurses in both their professional and personal lives. Additionally, social media is now considered a mainstream part of the process for recruiting and hiring candidates. Inappropriate or unethical conduct on social media can create legal problems for nurses as well as the field of nursing.
Login to all social media sites in which you engage. Review your profile, pictures and posts. Based on the professional standards of nursing, identify items that would be considered unprofessional and potentially detrimental to your career and that negatively impact the reputation of the nursing field.
In 500-750 words, summarize the findings of your review. Include the following:
- Describe the posts or conversations in which you have engaged that might be considered inappropriate based on the professional standards of nursing.
- Discuss 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. Include discussion of how personal conduct can violate HIPAA or be considered unethical or unprofessional. Provide an example of each to support your answer.
- Based on the analysis of your social media, discuss what areas of your social media activity reflect Christian values as they relate to respecting human value and dignity for all individuals. Describe areas of your social media activity that could be improved.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
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Answer
Social media is a crucial tool among healthcare givers as it is serves as a vital source of information and a channel communication among nurses. Through social media, nurses can foster proper nurse-patient relations by engaging them in practical nursing-based discussions that help them improve the outcomes of care. Unfortunately, there are times when social media channels can be used to channel unprofessionalism among nurses, where irresponsible workers fail to adhere to the set nursing code of conduct when using social media.
Health care workers must learn to place boundaries between personal and professional social media posts. The use of social media among nurses is restrictive to professional standards of nursing that are set by the American Nurses Association (ANA). Despite the great merits that the use of social media can obtain, nurses must ensure they portray professional behavior in social media, adhere to ANA rules that dictate that nurses should not share any patient information in social media, and also uphold the HIPAA privacy violation rules.
Inappropriate Posts Based on Professional Nursing Standards
Any social media post by all nurses must convey professional behavior and must ensure patients confidentiality. Some examples of unprofessional behavior among nurses Include but are not limited to alcohol or drug use, racist comments, use of vulgar language, sexually explicit images, undesirable comments regarding employer or co-workers, and any harassing comments.
Nurses might violate Patients’ privacy by posting patients’ photos or details, whether intentional or unintentional. In the course of pursuing my nursing career, I might have violated some of these rules. After an exhausting day in one of my nursing shifts, I vented my frustrations on social medial, specifically among my friends in a WhatsApp group after a drunk patient vomited near my working area. The alcohol in the content he vomited made the smell unbearable, and out of rage, I used profane words to describe the patient.
In one of my Facebook posts, I mentioned one of my irritable patients who addressed me rudely and asked for another nurse to tend to them. After an extensive study on nursing professional standards, I have learned to adhere to the professional nursing rules in my social media encounters and avoid any posts that might violate the rules.
Why Nurses Have a Responsibility to Uphold Standard of Conduct
Nursing professionals are responsible for upholding a standard of conduct because they are highly regarded as the primary caregivers among patients and can easily access any patient’s private information. Nurses’ social media presence should convey a high level of professionalism as well as their physical presence. The main reason for the set professional standards is to ensure safe and clinically proficient nurses.
The rules provide a basis for evaluating and analyzing the performance of nurses. If the employer suspects neglect of a nurse’s care or a deviation from the professional ethic, the employer can choose the correct course of action. An example of the inappropriate action is any breach in keeping a patient’s private records or personal information, such as leaking their area of residence, photos, or the illness they are suffering from, which is a breach of HIPAA privacy rules.
The portrayal of any unethical behavior by nurses, such as rudeness, racial tendencies, or harassment, should be duly addressed. Unprofessional nurses might lead to the loss of patients and the overall fall of an organization, and hence health organizations should educate on the importance of maintaining professional standards.
Social Media Activities that Reflect Christian Values
Following the HIPAA privacy rules by not posting patients’ photos, avoiding negative comments about patients, and not disclosing any patients’ details shows Christian values. It reflects respect for patients’ values and integrity. As a nurse, I seek to uphold the values in social media by non-disclosure of any information regarding my patients and entirely to avoid using patients’ photos in posts.
I am bound by my Christian values to avoid uncouth behavior towards patients and treat each patient with compassion. I uphold equal treatment of each patient regardless of their background, race, or gender and treat each patient encounters with respect. Nursing schools should ingrain Patients’ privacy practices in every nurse to protect their dignity and increase their trust in all nurses.
Areas of my Social Media Activity that could be Improved
After studying nurses’ professional standards, I have decided to change some areas in my social media accounts. I should delete all posts that might violate these rules and avoid making such mistakes in the future. I should also avoid taking photos in my hospital as it may disclose patients’ identities if they are featured in the background. Declining patient-friendly requests is also a part of my goal, restricting all my patient encounters to professional grounds or social media sites. I would highly recommend nurses avoid any unnecessary interactions with patients and only professionally communicate with them to avoid breaching the set privacy rules.
References
Hao, J., & Gao, B. (2017). Advantages and Disadvantages for Nurses of Using Social Media. Journal of Primary Health Care and General Practice, 1(1), 1-4. https://scientonline.org/open-access/advantages-and-disadvantages-for-nurses-of-using-social-media.pdf.
Schmidt, B. J., & McArthur, E. C. (2018, January). Professional nursing values: A concept analysis. In Nursing forum (Vol. 53, No. 1, pp. 69-75). https://doi.org/10.1111/nuf.12211
Cohen, I. G., & Mello, M. M. (2018). HIPAA and protecting health information in the 21st century. Jama, 320(3), 231-232. JAMA. 2018;320(3):231-232. doi:10.1001/jama.2018.5630
Baker, C., Cary, A. H., & da Conceicao Bento, M. (2021). Global standards for professional nursing education: The time is now. Journal of Professional Nursing, 37(1), 86-92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2020.10.001
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Rubric
| Course Code | Class Code | Assignment Title | Total Points | |||
| NRS-451VN | NRS-451VN-O501 | Professionalism and Social Media | 74.0 | |||
| Criteria | Percentage | Unsatisfactory (0.00%) | Less Than Satisfactory (75.00%) | Satisfactory (79.00%) | Good (89.00%) | Excellent (100.00%) |
| Content | 80.0% | |||||
| Assessment of Social Media Identifying Unprofessional Items | 20.0% | Analysis of the appropriateness of social media activity, based on professional standards of nursing, is omitted. | A partial analysis of the appropriateness of social media activity, based on standards of nursing practice, is not clear; or the analysis fails to incorporate the standards of nursing practice appropriately. | A general analysis of the appropriateness of social media activity based on standards of nursing practice is presented but is unclear in some areas. | An analysis of the appropriateness of social media activity based on standards of nursing practice is presented. | A detailed and transparent analysis of the appropriateness of social media activity based on standards of nursing practice is presented. |
| Nurse Responsibility to Uphold a Standard of Conduct Consistent With Nursing Profession in Personal Life | 40.0% | Discussion of how personal conduct can violate HIPAA, or be considered unethical or unprofessional as a nurse, is omitted. | The discussion fails to demonstrate an understanding of the importance of professional conduct in personal behavior and its consequence for causing harm to patients, nursing practice, or personal employment. | A more in-depth discussion on the appropriateness of social media activity based on nursing standards is needed. The discussion demonstrates a broad understanding of the importance of professional conduct in personal behavior and the consequence for inappropriate behavior causing harm. | The analysis and discussion demonstrate an overall understanding of the importance of professional conduct in personal behavior and its implications for patients and the field of nursing. The discussion summarizes how personal conduct can violate HIPAA or be considered unethical or unprofessional. General examples are given. | The discussion demonstrates an overall understanding of the importance of professional conduct in personal behavior and its implications for patients and the field of nursing. The discussion explains how personal conduct can violate HIPAA or be considered unethical or unprofessional. Clear examples are given. |
| Human Value and Dignity for Others Consistent with a Christian Worldview (MC3 | 20.0% | Discussion on areas of social media activity that reflect Christian values as they relate to respecting human value and dignity for all individuals is omitted. | An incomplete discussion on areas of social media activity that reflect Christian values as they relate to respecting human value and dignity is presented. No areas for improvement have been clearly suggested. | A general discussion on areas of social media activity that reflect Christian values as they relate to respecting human value and dignity is presented. Some areas for improvement have been suggested. | A discussion on areas of social media activity that reflect Christian values as they relate to respecting human value and dignity is presented. In general, the discussion demonstrates inclusiveness by respecting human value and dignity for different groups. General areas for improvement have been suggested. | A discussion of areas of social media activity that reflect Christian values as they relate to respecting human value and dignity is presented. The discussion demonstrates inclusiveness by respecting human value and dignity for all individuals regardless of differences. Specific areas for improvement have been suggested. The discussion is honest and demonstrates accountability for personal actions. |
| Organization, Effectiveness, and Format | 20.0% | |||||
| Thesis Development and Purpose | 5.0% | Paper lacks any discernible overall purpose or organizing claim. | Thesis is insufficiently developed or vague. Purpose is not clear. | Thesis is apparent and appropriate to purpose. | Thesis is clear and forecasts the development of the paper. Thesis is descriptive and reflective of the arguments and appropriate to the purpose. | Thesis is comprehensive and contains the essence of the paper. Thesis statement makes the purpose of the paper clear. |
| Argument Logic and Construction | 5.0% | Statement of purpose is not justified by the conclusion. The conclusion does not support the claim made. Argument is incoherent and uses noncredible sources. | Sufficient justification of claims is lacking. Argument lacks consistent unity. There are obvious flaws in the logic. Some sources have questionable credibility. | Argument is orderly but may have a few inconsistencies. The argument presents minimal justification of claims. Argument logically, but not thoroughly, supports the purpose. Sources used are credible. Introduction and conclusion bracket the thesis. | Argument shows logical progression. Techniques of argumentation are evident. There is a smooth progression of claims from introduction to conclusion. Most sources are authoritative. | Clear and convincing argument presents a persuasive claim in a distinctive and compelling manner. All sources are authoritative. |
