{"id":3476,"date":"2016-11-16T14:29:06","date_gmt":"2016-11-16T19:29:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/?p=3476"},"modified":"2018-04-19T16:23:09","modified_gmt":"2018-04-19T20:23:09","slug":"a-nurses-guide-to-social-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/a-nurses-guide-to-social-media","title":{"rendered":"A Nurse’s Guide to Social Media"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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A busy nursing shift can make it feel like you\u2019re being stretched in a million different directions at once. Now thanks to social media, nurses can actually (or at least their content can) exist in the palms of smartphone users across the nation and throughout the world. Yet, as the ubiquitousness of mobile technology and social platforms remains strong, this resource presents a range of responsibilities and considerations for medical workers in particular<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"social<\/p>\n

Privacy laws mark a dangerously thin line between one\u2019s professional life and personal social media presence or persona. Navigating chat rooms, blogs, public forums, or even your run-of-the-mill Facebook comment section can serve to influence your working life. This might be even more true for nurses looking to travel for new assignments as prospective employers judge your first impression based on a distasteful post or an unfortunately tagged photo from that bachelor party.<\/p>\n

Easy Communication with Hard Consequences<\/h2>\n

While we\u2019re free to express ourselves in unique and (hopefully) intentional ways on social media, there\u2019s an appropriate time and technique to be doing so when it comes to nursing. What may seem like a harmless post could actually result in disciplinary action, even negatively affecting one\u2019s career and license. Let\u2019s examine how social media can remain a useful tool without causing irreparable professional damage:<\/p>\n

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One of the most obvious and important aspects of medicine is patient privacy and the protection of confidential information. I\u2019ll say it now: Social media is not so good with these things. Though it\u2019s easy to whip out the iPhone for a quick Tweet about some humorous situation (maybe involving actual humors<\/a>) you may find yourself under review before the retweets start to roll in.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

According to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN)<\/a>, confidential information should be shared only with the patient\u2019s informed consent, when legally required, or where failure to disclose the information could result in significant harm. Tweets about the details of someone\u2019s injury or the number of medications they have to take don\u2019t usually fall into this category.<\/p>\n

Social Media Recommendations<\/h2>\n

So obviously use your\u00a0judgment with public (or private) posts, especially if they are created during a shift or on your facility\u2019s premises. Generally speaking, do not:<\/p>\n