The Impact of Social Media on Nurses: Opportunities, Risks, and Professionalism

Define the term ‘social media’ with reference to literature.
· Identify and explain two possible opportunities associated with the use of social media for
a nurse.
· Identify and explain two possible risks associated with the use of social media for a nurse.
· Provide recommendations for nurses to maintain their professionalism when engaging
online with reference to legal, ethical and professional standards of practice.
Discussion must be supported by scholarly literature, legislation and professional codes of
practice.
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Nowadays Social Media has become a very important part of every one’slife. It has grown
tremendously. It is a medium of communication which connect the whole world. It has changed
the way people share and access information. It helps connect people around the world and get
information very fast. Social media use can have significant impact on Nurses and other health
care professions at individual level and in the workplace. These tools can be used to improve or
professional networking and education.However,they are some risk associated with this.This
essay provides a definition of social media, Identify and explain two possible opportunities and
disadvantages of using social media in the health care system and recommendation and
responsibilities as new registered nurses to maintain their professionalism when engaging online
will be discussed.
Social Media has been defined as websites which allow profile creation and visibility of
relationships between users (Boyd & Ellison, 2008); web-based applications which provide
functionality for sharing, relationships, group, conversation and profiles (Kietzmann et al.,
2011). Social media has been referred to as “social media sites” (Diga & Kelleher, 2009), or a set
of information technologies which facilitate interactions and networking (Kapoor et al., 2017;
Oestreicher-Singer & Zalmanson, 2013).According to Nursing Council of New Zealand Social
Media are internet technologies that allow to connect, communicate and interact in real time to
share and exchange information.This include Facebook,Twitter,email groups and instant
messaging, and emcompasses text,photographs, images, video or audio files.(such as websites
for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to
share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content( such as videos).Electronic
communication includes email and text messaging by cell phone. According to (Adhesion,2019)
81% of online Kiwis use YouTube, 79% use Facebook and 46% use Instagram( more than most
countries including AUS,US and UK).
Social can be used in different ways.The first and main advantage of social media is
Professional networking. According to NZNO (2019) social media Nurses can use to connect
with others,as well as enhancing and supporting nursing practices.They can access information
for their workshops , connect with colleagues,share information and gain information.For
example Medical trainee may use Facebook or Google+ for online collaboration sharing of
resources and virtual moral support from student peers.Most nursing student participate on class
Facebook page and the NSU and TRT Committee uses Facebook as its main method of
communication.(NZNO, 2019).Nurses can get information about updated professional regulation
and reforms from Nurses Council Of New Zealand.The Nurses can participate in online
forums,groups where they canThe New Zealand discuss about specific health issues and
exchange the ideas .The New Zealand College of Primary Health Care Nurses and the Child and
Youth Nurses use Facebook to distribute consultation requests, advertise events and promote
their journal which is then shared via social media with a wider audience.They can equire
updated information about treatment options. Therefore social media connect peers on one
platform which was not imagined 20 years ago.

Another Advantage of social media is a powerful tool to improve healthcare education.
(Nowadays, social media can help patient to access healthcare information and other useful
medical resources.Patients can participate in virtual workshops ,receive health care receive
healthcare support, and track their professional progress through the social media.Ventolin
(2014) estimates that over half nursingschools are now using social media in educating
students.For Example You Tube video covering medical topics are incorporate into classroom
lectures to enhance the concept delivery. Other Example of Clinical application is ‘tweeting’
progress in surgery to family members and information sharing and clinical consultation.
(NZNO,2019).Nurses who work in rural areas can use social media websites to access to online
courses to ensure their registration are up to date in spite of significant geographical distance.
However social media has these distinct advantages to obtaining useful information, It also has
disadvantages as well.Violation of confidentiality and privacy of patient is one of the biggest
disadvantage of social mediaNurses can intentionally or unintentionally breach patients
confidentiality.Nurses have an ethical and legal responsibility to maintain patient/client
confidentiality.Nurses should inform patient and gain their express consent and acknowledge the
consent has been obtained in any online post.it is misunderstand that the communication or post
is private and accessible only by the intended recipients.The nurses may fail to recognise that
content once posted or sent can be spread abroad by others.Even if content deleted from site it
can be retrieved from the computer.Nurses may misunderstand that it is acceptable to discuss or
refer to health consumers if they are not identified by name,but referred by nick name,room
number,diagnosis or condition.This,too,is a breach of confidentiality and demonstrate disrespect
for patients confidentiality.The ability to access and index online information means
that,although a single posting on a social networking website may be sufficiently de-identified in
its right,this may be comprised by other postings on the same website,which are justa mouse
click away.Similarly,searching for information about online(patient-targed googling or
PTG,perhaps in an emergency, can breach patients confidentiality.Moreover, breaching
confidentially erodes the public trust in the nursing profession, impairing its ability to care for
patients effectivelyBreaching patients/Clients confidentiality can result in complaints to
NursingCouncil with potential disciplinary action, including loss of registration or even legal
action.
Other drawback of surfing social media include boundary desecration. Boundary desecrations
can arise very effortlessly online, and major indiscretions might result in punitive action in
contradiction of the registered nurse. A control imbalance exists among patients and nurses, and
the care of clear expert boundaries defends the patient from mistreatment and registered nurses
from the professional misbehavior. Nurses who permit patients to access the entire ‘profile’, thus
familiarizing them to particulars about their individual lives well outside what will normally
happen as portion of the normal therapeutic association, may disrupt professional limitations.
Hence, it is sensible to avoid accessible associations with present or former clients.