Free Essay: Professionalism and Social Media

Social media has greatly revolutionized nursing by providing a platform through which they can communicate effectively, express their feelings, and also share their opinion as they seek to address a specific health issue. Essentially, social media increasingly become a vital tool in conveying healthcare information among nurses (Schroeder, 2017). Nevertheless, nursing professionals must maintain set standards in as much as they are taking advantage of this new communication technology because a lack of keenness could mean destroying one's career. The paper seeks to delineate inappropriate social media use in regard to the nursing profession's standards, and explain why nurses must uphold standards of conduct before reflecting on how Christian values are reflected in social media use.

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Social media posts in which I have engaged and which that be considered inappropriate

After reviewing my social media accounts, I found that in 2018, I made two comments on Facebook that may be considered inappropriate as stipulated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). In one of the posts, I was happy that I had a successful emergency medical event, and I decided to highlight the procedure in this emergency event that was a success. Back then, I thought that I was right to do so as long as I did not mention the name or identity of the patient as this would not only ensure that they were anonymous but also maintain patient confidentiality. According to Edge (2017), detailing medical procedures on social media undermines a patient's confidentiality regardless of whether the nurse does not reveal the identity of the patient.

In another Facebook post, I contributed argumentatively to a political post in which I had been tagged. Argumentative posts on social media are usually revealed by potential employers (Edge, 2017). This post, as I now understand, could potentially damage my career as a nurse. Apart from the two posts, I have engaged in other social media activities, which I now understand might be inappropriate and unethical in my job as a nurse. For example, I found instances where I liked memes that contain foul language.

Why nurses have a responsibility to uphold a standard of conduct

Nurses must uphold a standard of conduct that is consistent with the standards that govern this profession, and this is the case because nurses are primary caregivers. This means that, primarily, the lives of patients are at the hands of nurses. Professionally, nurses must multitask in that they look after multiple patients while at the same time, ensuring that they act according to the ethics set by the institution. Moreover, they also care for their families, and this comes to balancing their professional and personal responsibilities.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) maintains that the privacy of patients and their medical information is paramount ("Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) | CDC", 2020). As a result, if nurse discusses and shares information whether they are doing so intentionally or unintentionally amounts top a violation of HIPAA and this means that even in their personal use of social media, they must be cautious not to violate the codes as I had done in one of my posts.

Areas of my social media activity that reflect Christian values

As a Christian, I believe that I must respect human values and dignity, and I try to portray this phenomenon on my social media posts. I am always keen to ensure that I reply, like, comment, post, tweet, and retweet appropriate content. Additionally, I ensure that I only follow those groups, which will boost my faith, education, and knowledge. As a Christian, I understand that I must promote spiritual well-being, provide care, educate, and collaborate with the community. Recently, all my social media posts only concentrate on new nursing job postings and informative nursing information from peer-reviewed journal resources.

Conclusion

Social media has greatly improved communication and networking in nursing, but I understand that as a nurse, I must trade with caution as I am using social media to ensure that I abide by nursing professional conduct. As a Christian, I should ensure that I promote human values as I use social media. I will work towards improving the social media experience to promote Christian and professional values, and this should be the focus of all nurses. They should understand at all times that they are the primary caregivers and patients' lives are in their hands.

References

Edge, W.(2017). Nursing Professionalism: Impact of Social Media Use among Nursing Students. J Healthc Commun. 2017, 2:3. doi: 10.4172/2472-1654.100068

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) | CDC. (2020). Retrieved 26 March 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/phlp/publications/topic/hipaa.html

Schroeder, W. K. (2017). Leveraging social media in# family nursing practice. Journal of family nursing, 23(1), 55-72. Doi: 10.1177/1074840716684228