Nursing Ethics: Social Media Use and Patient Confidentiality Analysis

This report delves into the critical intersection of nursing ethics, social media usage, and patient privacy, using a case study of a graduate RN's Instagram posts about a patient to illustrate key issues. It examines the NMBA Code of Ethics, emphasizing nurses' responsibilities regarding patient confidentiality and ethical conduct. A literature review supports the analysis, highlighting the importance of autonomy, beneficence, and non-maleficence in patient care. The report proposes strategies to address ethical dilemmas, including the need for clear professional boundaries, education on ethical and legal guidelines like HIPAA, and the establishment of support systems within healthcare settings. It also explores the legal and ethical consequences of breaching patient privacy, including financial penalties, loss of licensure, and potential jail time. The conclusion underscores the importance of ethical practice in nursing and the need for nurses to use social media responsibly to maintain patient trust and uphold professional standards.

Running head: NURSING PRACTICE
Transition into practice
Student Name
University Name
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
NMBA Code of Ethics for nurses..............................................................................................3
Literature review........................................................................................................................4
Critical evaluation......................................................................................................................5
Three potential strategies...................................................................................................5
Ethical issues..............................................................................................................................6
Legal issues................................................................................................................................7
Consequences of breaching the patient’s privacy......................................................................7
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES...........................................................................................................................9

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Introduction
Ethics, essentially characterised, is a rule that depicts what is normal as far as right
and wrong regarding conduct. Morals and moral practice are coordinated into all parts of
nursing care. Medical caretakers have an obligation to perceive and recognise moral issues
that influence staff and patients. Web based life is described by online spaces for fast
correspondence, publicising, proficient advancement, and promotion, and these stages have
changed how we interact with individuals and our way of life (Kangasniemi, Pakkanen &
Korhonen, 2015). Social media usage can significantly affect the strength of nurses, both at
the individual level and in the working environment. There are positive and negative results
of usage of the web-based life for medical attendants, including potential wellbeing
outcomes. This factor is valid for nursing, where the use of innovation is a necessary piece of
the calling (Kangasniemi, Pakkanen & Korhonen, 2015).
In the following case study, it is described that a graduate RN has posted comments
on Instagram regarding a patient who is hard to take care of; and this issue is being discussed
by the two senior RN who know the graduate RN. In the following essay, the strategies that
can be implemented in the current situation by the registered nurse will be discussed in detail.
In addition to this, there will be a critical literature review and analysis of the situation with
pieces of evidence to understand the issue prevalence better.

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NMBA Code of Ethics for nurses
The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia have developed a certain code of ethics
for the nursing profession. It is mandatory that every nursing member of the healthcare
system strictly follow the code of ethics (NMBA, 2019). The objective of ethical codes is to
recognise the important standards of ethics and moral towards which the nurses are
committed to, and their incorporation in other endorsed professional guidelines in nursing
and standards of conduct (Cowin, Rile, Heiler & Gregory, 2019). The code of ethics helps the
nurses to reflect on the actions of themselves and their colleagues (NMBA, 2019). According
to the NMBA code of ethics -
 Nurses should value the nursing quality care for every individual.
 Nurses should be respectful towards themselves and to others also.
 Nurses should value every kind of individuals be they belong to poor-class or rich-class.
 Nurses should have decision-making skills and should also be well aware of other
decisions.
 Nurses should take care of the patient’s safety and confidentiality (Mendelson, Rees &
Wolf, 2018).
 Nurses should ethically manage all kinds of information.
 Nurses must always value a socially, ecologically and economically sustainable
environment, which promotes their wellbeing and health (Smailhodzic, Hooijsma,
Boonstra & Langley, 2016).

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Literature review
The nursing profession must hold fast to specific moral standards like autonomy,
beneficence, non-maleficence and justice to provide the patient with the best care. These
standards help in teaching the medical caretaker about the practices to actualise in their work
for a superior wellbeing result of the patient. The medical attendant must stick to keep self-
rule of the patient and give them full appropriate to settle on choices for their treatment. The
patient ought to be given the necessary data about the plausible treatment strategies that can
be given to them to show signs of improvement. The medical attendant must regard the
decisions a patient makes while transmission of the data about their treatment.
Medical caretakers are progressively expected to create capabilities in medical
informatics. Infringement of patient protection is a genuine worry for medical attendants, as
these speak to an infringement of expert norms, and can bring about end or suspension.
Protection concerns are foremost for medical attendants, as automatic social insurance
experts. A break of protection, or the inability to report another medical attendant's rupture of
security, establish the most widely recognised moral infringement of medical caretakers
utilising internet based life. It is imperative to think about how online networking may
adversely affect wellbeing, for example, the psychological anguish related to an expert moral
infringement, whenever utilised improperly and without thought. Medical attendants need to
know and hold fast to distributed proficient rules for the utilisation of web based life and to
get settings and strategies related to whatever media they use.

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Critical evaluation
Three potential strategies
In the case study provided, a peer nurse has shared information about a difficult
patient on Instagram. It can be ascertained that this is a clear breach in the professional code
of conduct released by the hospital administration and the nursing board (Garner, 2017).
Expertly and hierarchically supporting and endorsing the use of nursing learning and aptitude
under the watchful eye of patients has been related to upgrading self-ruling nursing practice.
Medical attendants can redesign freedom by undeniably bestowing and organising their work
to ensure that they have the chance to catch up on nursing decisions using sound clinical
judgment (Edemekong and Haydel, 2019). Portraying expected practices incorporates passing
on that medicinal nurse are depended upon and asked to choose decisions about clinical
patient considerations that rely upon the science and art of nursing. This factor incorporates
setting a longing with the expectation of complimentary nursing action and supporting
essential administration inside the degree of nursing practice. Also, in light of the way that
nursing practice incorporates both free and related exercises, obviously distinctive agreeable
responses to conditions that are at the edge of medicinal specialists' regularly recognised
degree of preparing are valuable in this method.
Job demonstrating expected practices likewise strengthens self-governing clinical
practice. Fledgeling medical attendants rapidly watch the idea of clinical judgment and self-
governing medical attendant activities exhibited by increasingly senior associates and utilise
these perceptions to distinguish acknowledged degrees of autonomous and reliant basic
leadership. Clinical medical caretaker pioneers and clinical attendant masters in work on
setting can take part in practices intelligent of self-rule and fill in as a progressing asset for
job demonstrating training, and coaching greatness in clinical practice.

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On location nurture, ethicists or different morals experts who clinicians can privately
chat with are important in helping individuals take a gander at the circumstance from
different viewpoints. This will assist the attendants with understanding the significance of
morals in the medicinal calling. The medical clinic organisation must guarantee to make a
situation of sharing of moral issues looked by the nursing proficient. For the situation study
gave, the enrolled medical attendant is befuddled whether to share another medical
caretaker's set of accepted rules in the emergency clinic. It is against the moral practice to
share or examine another expert and their set of principles. Nonetheless, there is an
opportunity of answering to the specialists if the demonstration puts the life of the patient in
risk. It would have been perfect if assent was taken from the patient before sharing their
image on the internet based life. There can be various conceivable hazard elements related to
this conduct could change the life of the patient, relying on their seriousness of ailment
(Edemekong & Haydel, 2019).
Ethical issues
In this modern time, different applications, websites, advanced technologies and
social media is continuously being incorporated in the field of healthcare, which is directly
supporting patient-centred care.
Patients have various benefits from modern day technologies like benefiting from the
disease self-management applications, contacting with family, friends and healthcare staffs,
and having a closer assessment. However, social media can also cause various threats to the
security of patient privacy and confidentially (Denecke et al., 2015; Makama, Joshua &
Garba, 2016).

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Legal issues
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) have listed down the
types of health information or the clinical data that can be shared and with whom
(Edemekong & Haydel, 2019).
 Legal authority allows the primary care providers (PCP) to share information with public
health organisations (Griffith & Tengnah, 2017)
 Legal authority limits the primary care providers (PCP) from distributing clinical
information with public health organizations
Consequences of breaching the patient’s privacy
There are various consequences when a nurse uses social media during their shift times
and breaches patient privacy (Beltran-Aroca, Girela-Lopez, Collazo-Chao, Montero-Pérez-
Barquero & Muñoz-Villanueva, 2016).
 The monetary fine can be imposed on the nurse as a consequence of the misuse of social
media (Edge, 2017)
 Temporary or permanent loss of nursing license that can end the nursing career
 If it is found that the nurse has violated the state and federal laws like the HIPAA, then
this may lead the nurse to a monetary fine, termination of the license and also can be
sentenced to jail (Hao & Gao, 2017).

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Conclusion
In concluding remarks, it can be understood that nursing ethics play an integral role in
the proper functioning of the hospital administration and patient care. It is important for the
nurses to follow the NMBA code of ethics in order to provide better care without breaching
the patient's privacy or the code of ethics. All kind applications and websites linking to social
media are beneficial in every field, but it depends on how the person is utilising that asset.
When nurses use social media cautiously, then it can become an essential asset, and thus it
can provide with various advantages like knowledge about different healthcare appliances
used over the world, or like how to promote the health of a patient. Though, if the nurse uses
social media unconsciously or deliberately, then it can lead to serious consequences.

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REFERENCES
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Griffith, R., & Tengnah, C. (2017). Law and professional issues in nursing. Learning
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