Introduction
People use social media to connect with their peers, family, and professionals and receive new knowledge. Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn have become the most popular platforms to share information and stay updated regarding the latest news. While social media websites have many benefits, careless usage can affect a person’s life and occupation. Organizations, including healthcare ones, are concerned about their employees’ presence online and require them to uphold professional standards and principles even while posting from a private account. Unfortunately, not everyone can understand that, leading to unethical and unprofessional behavior.
This paper will analyze one’s own social media activity, discover flaws in it, explain why a nurse is responsible for always conducting themselves in a proper way, and discuss whether those posts and conversations adhere to Christian values.
Social Media Activity Analysis
At first glance, all accounts seem to adhere to the standard of nursing. The pictures are appropriate photographs; the display names are real, and the descriptions are formal, highlighting the workplace. The language is respectful, the shared information is accurate as it is based on evidence-based practice articles and scientific facts, and the concerns of minorities who may feel skeptical are not dismissed. What appears to be inadequate is safeguarding consumer privacy because the account tends to mention patients’ nicknames as a way to prove a point, which contradicts the standard (American Nurses Association [ANA], 2015).
While they do not mind, there should be a different approach to promoting healthcare without resorting to using individual examples. Overall, the social media accounts mostly adhere to the standard of practice, although using former patients in arguments remains an issue to be corrected.
Privacy Issues
Confidentiality issues in healthcare are very crucial, but once online, healthcare specialists may forget about its importance. If they happen to violate the rules of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), it can put their profession at risk (Edge, 2017). Breaking the outlined regulations is an unprofessional behavioral item that nursing students are taught, and the laws are highlighted in their class handbooks. Social media posts of patients’ photos and videos without their names are not a guarantee of anonymity but a violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act’s compliance. Such behaviors as treating patients in a disrespectful manner, violating their confidentiality, negatively commenting on co-workers’ posts, and bullying people are against the values reflected in those acts and can cost a nurse their license.
Christian Values
As far as Christian values are concerned, the analyzed social media accounts appear congruent with what the Bible teaches. In discussions with other users, the owner is respectful and understanding regardless of what language the conversation partner uses, non-discriminating, and not condescending despite possessing professional knowledge. The activity also involves links to people requiring donations, which reflects Christianity’s charitable aspect. However, some posts can be seen as vain, bragging of one’s achievements. Perhaps, it is advisable to be humbler and find self-fulfillment in grateful patients rather than trying to uplift oneself above them. Overall, the accounts reflect Christian values with universal respect and charity, but the displayed vanity may undermine the intent.
Conclusion
Social media is where learning, respect, employment, assessment, research, and communication occur. For nurses, using those platforms helps them connect with their patients, make updates on anything, educate the public, promote charity events, and learn the opinion on the health industry services across the country. Healthcare workers are required to uphold professional standards and protect consumers’ privacy, as careless conduct may endanger them and lead to license revoking. In those situations, it is always important to remember Christian values and consider the other person’s feelings because that alone may prevent a disaster.
References
American Nurses Association. (2015). Nursing: Scope and standards of practice (3rd ed.). Author.
Edge, W. (2017) Nursing professionalism: Impact of social media use among nursing. Journal of Healthcare Communication, 2(3). Web.