HLT54115 Diploma Of Nursing
Question:
In this written assignment, you will be making a determination about which of the five situations are appropriate uses of social media as a nurse and nursing student. For each situation, determine whether it is an appropriate use of social media and your rationale for your decision.
- Janet is a nursing student and is very excited about her first day on a medical-surgical unit. After her shift she texts her mother to tell her about her experience. She wants her mother to know all she learned.
- Linda, a nurse who works in surgery, likes to blog and uses it to share with other nurses best practices at her hospital.
- Danny, a senior nursing student, feels a responsibility to help other nursing students in his program. He sends a group email to the students in the class behind him giving them his evaluation of a faculty member in an upcoming class.
- Johnny, an experienced nurse on the pediatrics unit, was very sad about a client that had just passed. She called her husband to let him know what happened as a way to help herself feel better.
- Last week there was a party on the unit and many photos of staff as well as clients were taken. Lois placed the photos on Facebook.
Answer:
Introduction
The purpose of social media is to induce computer-mediated communication (CMC) enabling the creation and distribution of ideas, interests and other kinds of information that not only provide answers to questions but also resolves uncertain issues (Lahti et al, 2017). Social media is a widespread technology in today’s world and therefore nurses are welcome to use it in their personal lives as well as share their work experiences.
First Situation
In this first case, Janet makes appropriate use of the social media as a nurse. She only intends to tell her mother about what she learns in the medical-surgical unit. This would include newly acquired skills and information which does not necessarily entail private details of the patients such as their names (Lahti et al, 2017). There is, however, a contradictory note in this situation whereby due to the obviously close relationship between Janet and her mother, she may end up disclosing too much information and therefore violating the HIPAA Privacy Rule.
Second Case
Linda is said to only share the best practices in her hospital with other nurses. This is a proper use of social media as a nurse as she is trying to share the knowledge she has acquired in her career with people in the same field (Koivunen et al, 2015). She should, however, be very careful not to complain or make inapt comments about patients in her hospital as these could lead to the other nurses viewing her as unprofessional.
Situation Three
It is not appropriate to reveal institutional information or that of its members to other people. Disciplinary actions such as expulsion from school could be taken against Danny for his comments about faculty members (Lahti et al, 2017). Nurses should not voice their personal opinions or views about the institution, administrators or other employees even in stringent privacy. Nurses should maintain professionalism and composure at all times and avoid at all costs blowing off the work-related hassle.
Fourth Situation
The info unveiled throughout the course of doctor-patient association is confidential to the highest degree in life, and after death. This is however subjective to both the physician’s and the patient’s beliefs as well as to the patient’s wishes, that is, any specified directives made by the patient before death. In certain cases such as when there is an imminent risk or danger to the living or public health, it is important to divulge a patient’s information after death so as to protect others (Mitchell& Williams, 2017). Conversely, in Johnny’s case, she disclosed a patient’s info for her own selfish gain which is not proper.
The Fifth Case
In this case, there seems to be a consent from the clients to take their photos during the party. Nevertheless, Lois did not seek any patient’s assent before sharing their photos on Facebook. A simple photo can reveal too much data about a patient to the public that they would rather keep personal. This was an inappropriate use of the social media in the nursing industry as it infringes patient confidentiality (Ward, 2017).
References
Koivunen, M., Niemi, A., & Hupli, M. (2015). The use of electronic devices for communication with colleagues and other healthcare professionals–nursing professionals’ perspectives. Journal of advanced nursing, 71(3), 620-631.
Lahti, M., Haapaniemi-Kahala, H., & Salminen, L. (2017). Use of Social Media By Nurse Educator Students: An Exploratory Survey. The open nursing journal, 11, 26.
Mitchell, A., & Williams, B. (2017). Compassionate Release Policy Reform: Physicians as Advocates for Human Dignity. AMA journal of ethics, 19(9), 854.
Ward, J. M. (2017). Patient confidential: nurses’ social media use in the 21st Century.
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