Importance Of Media In Social Media

Communication has been permanently changed by social media. A wide conceptual definition of social media, as cited in Ressler & Glazer (2010), is “The online and mobile accessible services that enable individuals to connect, collaborate, and share with others in real time.” Social media has an obvious influence on informal communication style and represents both possibility and liability for healthcare institutions. As cited in Bernhardt, Alber, & Gold (2014), “Social media provide healthcare professionals with tools to share information, to debate health care policy and practice issues, to promote health behaviors, to engage with the public, and to educate and interact with patients, caregivers, students, and colleagues.” It also presents challenges, including risks to information accuracy, organizational reputation, and individual privacy. Social media can be a very helpful in communicating among nurses and other healthcare providers while creating professional connections, and sharing experiences, but guidelines for appropriate use by healthcare providers are essential. Whether or not certain healthcare organization decides to use social media as a communications tool - social media policy still need to be implemented. Policies help establish an organization 's rules and expectations around social media.

In the present culture of the United States, social media has had a major impact in American society. It has a profound influence and intertwined itself in almost every aspect of the average American’s life. It ranges from providing updates of location of a person(s), events, and sharing personal moments. Even different industries are utilizing social media as a platform for communication, information, and sales mediums. One industry, the health care field has seen a rise in the utilization of social media. For instance, an emerging population of physicians are using social media apps such as Snap Chat, Facebook, and YouTube to educate, display surgical, and medical procedures while being performed. In contrast, as there are positive aspects of utilizing social media, a negative trait of social media is invading and exposing individual’s privacy. As of recent, a New York licensed nurse had to surrender her nursing license and sentenced to 3 years of probation for “moral unfitness in the practice (Bowerman, 2016).” She took photos with her phone of two unconscious male patient’s genitalia and shared them with coworkers. This has become an increasing issue and as the utilization of social media in healthcare is increasing, many ethical issues are developing. For instance, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) was passed for the adoption of a national standard for electronic health care transactions and code sets, unique health identifiers,

The rapid development of technology throughout modern society has initiated the widespread use of social networking. Social networking plays a positive role in healthcare when educating, communicating, or advertising. However, poor judgments have the power to turn this positive into negative and damage professional reputations. Griffith (2014) stresses the importance of understanding that protected health information is not a matter of open secrets. Whether a lawyer, doctor, nurse, or a secretary, it is important to avoid conditions that may influence the health and security of patients or clients, as well as their own professional reputation (Aylott, 2011). The Purpose of this paper is to explore the appropriate use of cell phones and social networking in healthcare and the importance of understanding the ethical boundaries between professional uses opposed to personal use.

Employees within healthcare and anyone who has been a mature patient in recent years have been duly informed of the Health Insurance Privacy and Portability Act (HIPPA), but even more people are more intimately familiar with the social networking site Facebook. Prior to researching the legal and ethical boundaries at it pertains to patient confidentiality in nursing school, many of us thought little of the HIPPA concept and how it applies to each of us as individuals. We can announce to the world on Facebook that I have a lump, please go get a mammogram! We can whine on for ages about our children’s medical problems. We make announcements and call for prayers for our spouses and parents who are ill. We share with our friends and family,

While using social media can be valuable to doctors and nurses, inappropriate use of these tools can be devastating to a health professional career. Here are some examples

I agree with you that social media plays a big role in our lives. People use Instagram, twitter, snapchat, and Facebook to post pictures or tweets. In the hospital this prohibited. When you take a picture of the patient as Sabina gives the example of the patient with cancer you are being unethical because you aren’t respecting the patient’s privacy thus hurting the patient and nurse relationship. The patient has faith that the nurse is there to help the patient and not cause harm, but by putting them on social media their privacy is being shared with everyone in social media. According to the nursing, “6 tips to avoid problems: remember that standards of professionalism are the same online as in any other circumstance, do not share or post information or photos gained through the nurse-patient relationship, maintain professional boundaries in the use of electronic media. Online contact with patients blurs this boundary, do not make disparaging remarks about patients, employers, or co-workers, even if they are not identified, do not take photos or videos of patients on personal devices, including cell phones, and promptly report a breach of confidentiality or privacy” (www.nursingworld.org).

Nancy Spector, whom holds a PhD, RN titles from the University of Wisconsin, distinguishes that most patient privacy violations are due to nurses not taking the time to think before posting and inadvertently putting the patient’s info out for persons not admitted to see it. Spector states “The quick and efficient technology enabling use of social media reduces not only the time it takes to post, but also the time to consider whether the post is appropriate and what ramifications may come from posting inappropriate content.” Nurses should be able to use social media to help further their relationships with patients and co-workers, with the healthy understanding of how to do so wisely.

Technology today has an easy access to direct communication. Social media is an effective way tool for nurses today, but with this resource comes great responsibility. As a nursing student I must maintain patient confidentiality and privacy at all times, as well as serving a positive representation of my institution. Nurses and nursing student are responsible for what they display on social media, and with this privilege comes consequences if not used appropriately. Social media has consequences amongst nurses such as federal legislation, privacy, laws and legal actions.

In the article Ethics and social media (2014, Vol 27(4)), written by Dr. Constance Milton, the author discusses how to choose the proper media applications for nurses since they are bonded by obligations and liabilities toward human kind dignity.

For many, social media is how to stay connected with what is going on in the world, but for nursing students this craze can be quite dangerous (Peck, 2014). Anything that is posted online can be seen, reported, and cause someone’s life to change in an instant. For example, if a student nurse connects with one of their clients on social media, this client has access to the student’s personal life. Not only is the student crossing the boundary of the therapeutic nurse-client relationship, but he or she is not showcasing a professional image and may be putting him or herself at risk (International Nurse Regulator Collaborative, 2014). Other scenarios involving unsuitable use of social media include complaining about a client or co-worker, posting inappropriate photos, etc. (See Appendix) (College of Nurses of Ontario, 2013). Moreover, it is important for all nurses, especially students to learn the importance of navigating social media in a way that keeps their professional and private life

Although the increasing prevalence of social media use has many benefits to nurses in both workplaces and home, it has given rise to some issues regarding patient privacy and confidentiality (Johnstone, 2016). Presented in this essay is a scenario where a

The issue of protecting patient information in health care is not a new issue; however, the use of social media in distributing this information is a relatively new problem. The use of social media has posed a lot of ethical challenges to the profession of nursing. Patient’s privacy and confidentiality of information are protected by HIPAA. Using social media in an improper manner could potentially violate HIPAA, and could result in consequences including: being sued, loss of licensure, and termination. Additionally, nurses are held to a higher standard than most and should act on their personal pages as such. Patients frequently search the nurses ' online profiles in order to determine their behaviors outside of the workplace, thus

As nurses, we have the ethical and legal obligation of protecting patient's right to privacy. According to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), federal law reinforces and defines privacy through the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The use of social media such as Facebook, and Instagram is tremendously growing in popularity. Often nurses feel emotional or excited about their day at work that their post may offer serious potential consequences, and even termination from their jobs. Nurses must always take into consideration their ethical duties to protect patient information because divulging information in the use of social media is a violation of privace and

A main tool in how we communicate and connect with others is through social media; which is being incorporated into the health system. Students studying nursing are considered health professionals and are expected to behave professionally at all times online. Expectations and guidelines such as NAMBA’s Code of Conduct and Code of Ethics, APHRAS’ Social Media Policy and QUT’s Mopp are fundamental policies for providing effective care. This essay will discuss what nursing students need to understand about behaving appropriately on social media.

Finkelman, A., Kenner C., (2013), Professional nursing concepts: Competencies for quality leadership, nursing textbook chapter 6 gives a brief summary on defining social media and ethics problems anc consequences. Helped with the direction in which to write the paper.