Professionalism and Social Media

Description

According to Fleck and Johnson (2015), social media can benefit health care in a variety of ways including improving professional connections, promoting timely communication with patients, and family members, and educating, and informing consumers and health care professionals. Social media inclusive of Face book, Instagram, twitter, and host of chat rooms offer nurses an opportunity to express their feelings, and seek support from friends, colleagues, and peers on the Internet. Without a sense of awareness, however, these urgent needs and inherent advantages may prompt nurses to expose too much information which can go against patient privacy and confidentiality (Fleck and Johnson-Migalski, 2015).

I have in the past posted information about my colleagues working in the same department with me. Even though such conversational post started unserious, however, it became impossible to control the direction of the discussion, because at that point in time, a patient at the hospital facilities was suffering from acute illness. In order to mention some effort that we used in providing useful care outcome, I mentioned the kind of ailment the patient has been suffering from, and this is against nursing ethics. In another conversation, I condemned health care personnel who posted about care practice he performed on a patient in her ward with recurrent wound. The health care personnel felt offended because I didn’t observe nursing professional ethics.

The nurse thought I ought to have used careful forethought before I responded to the issue in order to avoid harm. Although I later apologized for the unprofessional act, yet the damage has been done, and my respect to the post was dented on my profession and this negated my relationship with people who know me at that particular point in time. A nurse must help in the way that is complied with the necessities governing the hospital settings because of the sensitivity of their job functions.