Professionalism and Media
Social media has become a significant part of our lives that we cannot evade. We have to live with it as we are now living in a dynamic world of information technology. Social media is one of the products that have resulted from information technology. Platforms such as Facebook Twitter Instagram and google are the most common examples. It is unrefuted that social media has impacted everyone’s life including the lives of nurses in their health care careers either positively or negatively. This discussion explores the negative impacts of the posts that I have posted on such platforms and how they could negatively impact my nursing career credibility in terms of professionalism and reputation.
Firstly, last year I posted a photo of me and my friend in hospital on both my Instagram and Facebook social medial accounts. He was sick and admitted to a hospital and I had gone to pay a visit. I took a picture of us with my smartphone and posted it on the social media platforms wishing him a quick recovery. According to HIPAA nursing standards, I might have violated such given that I might have exposed details about the hospital and my friend that I was not supposed to. My friend could also not have liked me posting him considering I did not ask for his permission. This post can reduce my credibility as a professional nurse.
A similar post appears in my Instagram account whereby I posted a photo of my friends and me in a patient ward. I had written the caption of how we are wishing ourselves the best in our careers. We had gone to carry out a case study regarding the weekend effect. I was congratulating us for the good progress in the nursing college. However, it is unprofessional of me to post patients in award even if I blurred their faces. I also could have violated the hospital rules and privacy terms. It was unethical of me to be blinded by passion and it was unprofessional of me to expose the situation of a patient’s ward without seeking permission from the Hospital authorities.
The third post that could damage my reputation is a conversation thread I involved myself in on Twitter. A friend had posted a picture and people were being sarcastic about how big she was. She was suffering from obesity and I of all people should have given a positive comment. Unfortunately, I also gave a savage reply disliking her fatness. I could have contributed to damaging her self-esteem and making her feel bad about herself. That is not what nurses do. I made fun of her disease and that is very low of me as a nurse. Even though I later messaged her a sorry text, I still might have caused damage. This is a post that was unprofessional of me and could tarn my reputation as a nurse later.
Nurses should uphold the ethics and standards of professional nursing in their work and personal lives because their primary commitment belongs to a patient and they should provide primary care with compassion and respect that upholds human dignity. It enables them to protect and promote the rights of their patients such as upholding their privacy guidelines. (Westrick, 2016) The standards also enable them to account and be responsible for their nursing practice decisions to deliver optimal care to patients. They also enable them to be fair to themselves as the standards dictate the same duty to self as to others for personal improvement. Personal conduct may violate HIPAA rules. When a nurse witnesses another nurse conducting an unethical act but decides to keep quiet so that the nurse does not get suspended will have violated HIPAA. A nurse may also disclose the medical information of the patient to a third party for the patient’s benefits, say obtaining financial help. They shall still have violated the patient’s privacy guidelines hence a violation of HIPAA. Concerning my posts, they are all unethical and unprofessional when measured against standards of nursing standards.
My social media platforms especially Facebook have some activities that portray Christian values. I have a Facebook page where I discuss health issues with my friends. We also discuss emotional and psychological distresses on this page. Friends have opened up and healed through spiritual support from peers. The page reflects on various scriptures from the bible and other spiritual books. It defines distinct Christian values and encourages my friends to live healthy spiritual and physical lives. The page dictates that all posts are perceived with respect and I have made privacy settings in a way that all posts are secure and private. The page tries to respect the human value and upholds dignity.
In conclusion, the review of my social media accounts made me realize that several changes could be done to improve my accounts and the reputation I have. I could create more pages in other platforms apart from Facebook whereby people will gather tips to be psychologically fit, emotionally, and physically healthy. I could also enhance the privacy settings and delete all posts that feel unethical and unprofessional.
References
Westrick, S. J. (2016). Nursing students’ use of electronic and social media: Law, ethics, and e-professionalism. Nursing Education Perspectives, 37(1), 16-22.
