Social Media Usage by Australian, NZ Nursing and Midwifery Graduates

This report examines the utilization of social media by new nursing and midwifery graduates in Australia and New Zealand, based on a sub-study of the Graduate e-Cohort Study (GeS). The research investigates the extent of social media use, the platforms preferred (Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, and Instagram), and the purposes for which these platforms are used, including social, educational, and entertainment reasons. The study also explores the awareness of professional standards and policies related to social media use among these professionals. Findings indicate a high rate of social media adoption, but limited use for professional communication and employment persistence. The report emphasizes the importance of educating nurses and midwives about the benefits and risks of social media in their profession and calls for further research to understand the broader perspectives of nursing professionals and to develop institutional policies that foster the positive use of social media as a clinical tool. The study highlights the need for nursing institutes to educate nurses about the prospects of using social media and the related advantages for their profession. In addition, they must also make them aware of the policies and standards that are to be followed in practice.

1Running head: NURSING
Nursing
Name of student:
Name of university:
Author note:

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Study aim and research question
The present era is witnessing an accelerating rise in the use of social media by
professionals from different field, including nursing. Research indicates that nurses and other
healthcare professionals are using social media at different junctures of their practice. Nurses
use different platforms such as Facebook, Twitter amongst others to communicate with each
other and share information, opinions, experiences and thoughts. Social media shore up
participation, permitting for open communication. The utilisation of social media by
Australian and New Zealand new nursing and midwifery graduates had not been studied
previously (Nemeth et al. 2016). Tuckett and Turner (2015) conducted research aimed at
studying the details of the utilisation of social media by this group of nurses and gauging their
level of awareness of professional standards and policies leading the utilization of social
media within their profession. In the research under scrutiny, the research question addressed
by the researchers is – “Does increase uptake of social media by Australian, and New
Zealand new nursing and midwifery graduates have a positive influence on their nursing
practice?”
Design
The study conducted by Tuckett and Turner (2015) constituted a sub-study of the
Graduate e-Cohort Study (GeS) that used the survey design. The study was perceived as a
segment of the studies using the e-cohort web platform whose creator was former School of
Nursing and Midwifery, the University of Queensland. The larger GeS study was carried out
with the underlying purpose of undertaking an analysis of the selection of graduate midwives
and nurses from the universities with regards to the employment after completing graduation
as well as in the coming years. Research guidelines indicate that the use of survey design has
certain limitations to it as reliability depends on a number of factors. The participants might

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not be encouraged to express their views. In addition, they might not feel comfortable in
answering the questions presenting themselves. Chances of data errors also exist as a result of
question non-response. Nevertheless, a broad range of data can be collected through this
method and a larger number of participants can be involved (Houser 2016).
Sampling
A total number of 121 participants enrolled in this study. Out of this, 96% were
women, and 93% of the total population was registered nurses graduating in two different
years. The sample size was divided, with 54% receiving their respective degree in New
Zealand and 46% in Australia. 92% were employed as midwife or nurse. The sample
characteristics included employment status, employment organization, country of
employment, and work setting. The authors do no mention the sampling method for final
selection of the study population. This factor is important since sampling method influences
bias and increases the chances of obtaining results that are not generalizable (LoBiondo-
Wood and Haber 2017). Further, the majority of the participants being women, there are
chances of gender bias. The evidence gathered from the study might have been fundamentally
flawed owing to such form of bias (Holloway and Galvin 2016). In addition, not all the
participants were employed at the time of taking part in the studying, implying that they were
not able to provide information in relation to workplace practice of using social media. To
add to this, it has not been mentioned clearly regarding the sample size for midwives and that
for nurses.
Ethical considerations
Ethical principles are elementary to research undertaken with human participants.
These attributes are to be abided by for eliminating the risks of any unjustified or prejudiced
incidents. The graduate nurses and midwives were given out an invitation in a written format

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from their respective nursing program responses tallied. Approval for ethical consideration
was given by the Human Research Ethics Committees for the respective universities taking
part in the study. According to Chadwick and Gallagher (2016) involvement of human
participants in a research demands approval from the concerned committee. Potential
participants are to provide informed consent if they are keen on taking part in the research.
This process involves explaining the potential participants about the aims and purpose of the
research. They are also to be given the details of any possible harm that can be suffered due
to the research and any concerning risks. The research paper does not mention any such steps
taken. The authors of the paper also do not mention adherence to the three ethical standards;
justice, beneficence and respect for participants. Whether the participants were given the
option of terminating their association with the study at any given point of time through the
research process also is not mentioned. Nevertheless, the positive aspect was that the contact
details and the responses of the survey were stored in a separate place for maintaining
anonymity as well as confidentiality of the those taking part in the study.
Data collection and analysis
The participants for the study were to register online with contact details. The GeS
survey had 55 items taken from the preceding workforce research along with other literature.
The pool of data reported were from Survey 7 that was collected in the year 2014 and
represented Australia and New Zealand. There were multiple responses provided by one
participant. There was variation in the length of the responses as some were in words while
others were in sentences. However, all of the data collected were included for analysis. Data
extracted for questions 1, 2 ad 5 were considered for analysis through descriptive statistics. In
addition, data from the questions 3 and 4 that were open-ended were analysed through
thematic analysis and responses tallied. Responses were assigned to codes for judging them
to present a fine distinction about the central theme. This method was beneficial as the aim

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was to extract sub-themes from within the main theme in an inductive approach (Vaismoradi
et al. 2016). After conversations among the authors, the consensus was achieved about the
patterns that were finalised. Sub-themes and the quotes having an illustrative nature that were
used for disseminating the study findings were jointly decided. The process sustained till this
research article was written.
Results
Out of 121 participants, 112 completed it by providing complete data of all questions
asked of them. 93% of the respondents indicate the use of social media. There was, however,
no data on the frequency of usage. 97%, 46%, 42% and 36% of the respondents indicated the
use of Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram respectively. No new graduate nurses
and midwives used AboutMe or Flickr, and Twitter, Google Plus , Tumblr, Vimeoor
LinkedIn were minimally used. Social (95%), educational (27%) and entertainment (18%)
purposes were pointed out as the purpose of using social media. The results indicated low
social media usage for professional communication and employment persistence. 48% of the
participants indicated that their usage of social media was less due to reason that were work-
related. Other responses highlighted that they rejected the use of social media for bullying,
objections and unethical or illegal purposes. 72% of the respondents stated that they had
knowledge of governing standards pertaining to the use of social media for their professions.
The others thought that there was doubt about any existing policy and standards for the same.
Only 3% of the respondents agreed that social media usage is free for all (Tuckett and Turner
2015).
Implications for practice
Social media is a ground-breakingmethod to take part in progress and be
knowledgeable of infringementpieces of information, news, events, and discussions. Use of

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social media in different forms is rapidly expanding at present, and so is the use by healthcare
professionals, including nurses and midwives. There has been evidence for international and
national bodies recognizing the implications for this widespread use of social media who are
engaging continually with the significant topic. The study gave valuable insights into the
extent of use of social media by nurses and midwives in Australia and New Zealand (Rolls et
al. 2016). The uptake patterns of social media by these professionals have highlighted
adequately. The study results concluded that at present, the educational ojectives and goals
for nursing profession with regards to the use of social media would lead to restricted success
in case other platforms are used apart from Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram. It is
further concluded that an overwhelming majority of the professionals recognize the fact that
social media is not to be used due to distinct reasons Ferguson (2013).
Balancing the positive and negative aspects of using social media is necessary if
suitable use is to be achieved to the optimal extent. For this successful balance between
positive and negative, it is crucial to educate the nurses about the wider benefits and risks of
using social media in relation to their profession. Initiatives are to be taken both on the part of
the nurses and the midwives, and the nursing institutes for promoting positive utilization of
social media. It is the responsibility of the institutes to educate the nurses about the prospects
of using social media and the related advantages for their profession. In addition, they must
also make them aware of the policies and standards that are to be followed in practice. The
nurses must be accountable for reflecting on what has been taught to them and do as needed
(O'Connor et al. 2017).
The study findings of Tuckett and Turner (2015) give rise to the need to undertaking
further research to understand the wider perspectives of the nursing professionals. Research
by professionals at an undergraduate and graduate level must have the emphasis on the
repercussions of social media use for practice and policy. Studies are also to be conducted to

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develop the understanding of thenurses of the importance of social media as a nursing
practice tool for achieving better patient outcomes. These future conclusions would definitely
escort future permissive institutional policy development fostering use of social media as a
clinical tool.

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References
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