Assignment:Nursing Leadership and Management

Assignment:Nursing Leadership and Management

Assignment:Nursing Leadership and Management

Professionalism and Social Media

Social media plays a critical role in people’s lives today, from personal to professional situations, as they share information, learn new things and connect with others. Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram among others have become an integral part of people’s lives, including professionals like nurses. However, social media use implores nurses to exercise responsibility based on professional obligations to avoid risks and violations of patient privacy, confidentiality and harming the overall professional reputation and boundaries (Geraghty et al., 2021). The purpose of this paper is to evaluate my social media accounts and identify items that would be considered as unprofessional and with possible detrimental effects on my career and having negative effects on the reputation of the nursing profession.

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Posts Considered as Inappropriate

Individuals share a majority of their social media information and content using different platforms and materials that include messages, images, and video content like on Facebook and Instagram. As a nurse, one must be responsible for the information that they post and exchange to avoid any possible violations of patient’s privacy and confidentiality. As I analyzed my posts on different social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, I realized that some posts may be considered as unprofessional and inappropriate. For instance, in one post discusses the poor working conditions and increased demand at work. In this post, I complain about the number of patients that I had to serve against the legally recommended ratio. While I may have a valid point, the approach of sharing this information on social media captioned with images of patients in wards was a serious violation of privacy. I realized that the post was wrong and raising the issue on the social media platform was unprofessional. In this post, I also castigated patients who wanted assistance, asking them to wait for the chief nurse. I realized that by doing this, I breached the expected duty of care from me by the nursing profession. These posts have significant effect on my personal image and reputation as well as the reputation of the nursing practice based on the professional nursing standards that implore nurses to act in the best interest of the profession and patients.

Upholding a Standard of Conduct Based on Nursing Profession & HIPAA Provisions

Nurses like other healthcare workers (HCWs) have a duty to observe and adhere to a standard of conduct that aligns with the set standards governing the profession while at work and in their personal lives. Posting unprofessional materials and content anywhere, especially on social media, can have adverse effects on the nurses and their healthcare organizations. Any content on social media is accessible by the public and demonstrates the overall professional approach that nurses have and are capable of influencing the opinions that people get concerning the individual nurse and the profession as a whole (Chism, 2019). Professionalism in nursing implies offering quality patient care while honoring values like respect, advocacy, privacy, and responsibility. In their study, Cao et al. (2023) assert that professionalism allows nurses to offer care to patients in the most altruistic manner for better outcomes. professionalism implores nurses to follow the set code of ethics and conduct by professional organizations like the American Nurses Association and adhere to legal frameworks on aspects of health information that include the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) (Weiss et al., 2019).  Nurses should also be accountable for their actions and should protect the privacy and safety of patients under their care.

Personal conduct can have serious effects on HIPAA and be considered not just unethical but also unprofessional. For instance, a nurse posting images of patients or their names violates the protected health information provision of the HIPAA requirements (Vukušić Rukavina et al., 2021). Nurses must ensure that they protect such information since one can use them in identity theft or reveal personal details of a patient. Such violations can have far-reaching implications for the provider and their institutions, including legal suits that may require compensation.

Reflection of Christian Values and Enhancing Social Media Activities

Christian values are essential for the wellbeing and positive health of patients, irrespective of their health status or condition. Respect for human value and dignity for all people regardless of their status are essential aspects of Christianity (Weiss et al., 2019). As a nurse, one must understand these values as part of providing holistic and patient-centered care. As such, the areas of social media that reflect Christian values associated with respecting human value and dignity for all people include sharing the Gospel message of healing and assurance from God. As a practicing Christian, it essential to give people hope and reassure them of their inherent value before God. Therefore, I biblical verses and inspirational messages on my social media to encourage my patients, especially those who follow me. 

Again, areas of my social media that need improvement include my posting on Facebook that depict my social life, especially when hanging out with friends and having drinks. I also need to improve my framing of issues when they occur as opposed to using social media to vent out possible frustrations. Again, I need to contextualize the professional responsibility and accountability expectations as a nurse practitioner.

Conclusion

The use of social media is essential in healthcare and allows nurses and other providers to share information, including care plans for patients. However, nurses have a duty to protect any information by patients and its passage to the general public. As such, nurses should comply and align with the professional standards of nursing practice and the existing legal frameworks like HIPAA to avoid such violations that can have significant effects on their overall personal reputation and that of the profession.

References

Cao, H., Song, Y., Wu, Y., Du, Y., He, X., Chen, Y., … & Yang, H. (2023). What is nursing

 professionalism? a concept analysis. BMC nursing, 22(1), 34.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-022-01161-0

Chism, L.  (2019). The Doctor of Nursing Practice: A Guidebook for Role Development and Professional Issues. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Geraghty, S., Hari, R., & Oliver, K. (2021). Using social media in contemporary nursing: risks

and benefits. British Journal of Nursing, 30(18), 1078-1082. https://www.britishjournalofnursing.com/content/professional/using-social-media-in-contemporary-nursing-risks-and-benefits/

Vukušić Rukavina, T., Viskić, J., Machala Poplašen, L., Relić, D., Marelić, M., Jokic, D., &

Sedak, K. (2021). Dangers and benefits of social media on e-professionalism of health care professionals: scoping review. Journal of medical Internet research, 23(11), e25770. DOI: 10.2196/25770

Weiss, S., Tappen, R., & Grimley, K. (2019).  Essentials of Nursing Leadership & Management.

Philadelphia, PA:  F. A. Davis.

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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:
1. Describe the posts or conversations in which you have engaged that might be considered inappropriate based on the professional standards of nursing.
2. 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.
3. 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.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. A link to the LopesWrite technical support articles is in Class Resources if you need assistance.