Professionalism and Social Media Essay Discussion Paper

Social media plays a significant role in the lives of nurses in both their professional and personal lives. Additionally, social media is now considered a mainstream part of the process for recruiting and hiring candidates. Inappropriate or unethical conduct on social media can create legal problems for nurses as well as the field of nursing.

Login to all social media sites in which you engage. Review your profile, pictures and posts. Based on the professional standards of nursing, identify items that would be considered unprofessional and potentially detrimental to your career and that negatively impact the reputation of the nursing field.

In 500-750 words, summarize the findings of your review. Include the following:

1.Describe the posts or conversations in which you have engaged that might be considered inappropriate based on the professional standards of nursing.
2.Discuss why nurses have a responsibility to uphold a standard of conduct consistent with the standards governing the profession of nursing at work and in their personal lives. Include discussion of how personal conduct can violate HIPAA or be considered unethical or unprofessional. Provide an example of each to support your answer.
3.Based on the analysis of your social media, discuss what areas of your social media activity reflect Christian values as they relate to respecting human value and dignity for all individuals. Describe areas of your social media activity that could be improved.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to Lopes Write. Refer to the Lopes Write Technical Support articles for assistance.

Professionalism and Social Media

1. Describe the posts or conversations in which you have engaged that might be considered inappropriate based on the professional standards of nursing.

After reviewing my social media accounts, I have noticed that some of the content in my page could be regarded as inappropriate. The inappropriate conversations and posts involved discussions about patients’ cases, particularly the unique cases that stand out. For instance, cases in which patients appear to make illogical decisions. An example that stands out is one in which a patient declined to accept dialysis simply because he preferred going to a faith healer. The patient’s medical condition worsened and he was eventually brought in for the dialysis although his condition had worsened to an extent that he required a kidney transplant in order to continue surviving. The social media conversation went on to discuss the patient’s case with other medical personnel, and some of the contributors to the conversation identified the patient’s name and facility in which the case occurred.  Professionalism and Social Media Essay Discussion Paper The conversation was considered inappropriate since it violated five provisions in the nursing code of ethics. Firstly, the conversation violated the first provision concerned with showing compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth and unique attributes of every patient. The conversation did not respect the inherent dignity of the patient (University of Southern Indiana, 2020).

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Secondly, the conversation violated the third provision concerned with promoting, advocating for, and protecting the safety, health and rights of patients. The conversation reveals that the patient’s right to privacy was violated. Thirdly, it violated the fifth provision that is concerned with duties to others to include responsibility to promote safety and health, and preserve integrity and wholeness of character. The conversation did not preserve the nurse’s integrity and wholeness of character as it bordered on ‘gossip’ and discussion of a patient without prior express permission. Fourthly, it violated the sixth provision that is concerned with establishing, maintaining and improving the ethical environment. The nurse acted in an unethical manner by discussing case details and identifying a patient outside the care environment without prior express permission. Finally, the conversation violates the sixth provision by failing to maintain the integrity of the profession and failing to integrate the principles social justice into health and nursing policy (University of Southern Indiana, 2020).

2. Discuss why nurses have a responsibility to uphold a standard of conduct consistent with the standards governing the profession of nursing at work and in their personal lives. Include discussion of how personal conduct can violate HIPAA or be considered unethical or unprofessional. Provide an example of each to support your answer.

Nurses have a professional responsibility that extends to moral and ethical obligations permeating the profession. The responsibility is identified by standards related to morals, integrity, collaboration with other medical personnel, social change, and patient care. Nurses must be aware of these standards and uphold them since violations could result in disciplinary action by the nursing board or even the loss of license. Through posting inappropriate social media content, nurses reflect adversely on themselves and also the associated medical organization. This is particularly of concern when the content involves the patients’ rights thereby violating HIPAA provisions (Black, 2020). To be more precise, concerns are presented when the social media content includes disparaging remarks about patients, sexually suggestive images, profane and biased language, and infringements on patient confidentiality. For instance, if a patient comes into the medical facility drunk and ends up urinating on himself, then taking a picture of that patient in wet cloths and posting it on social media would be considered a violation of the required standards of conduct. HIPAA is particularly concerned with patient confidentiality with violations that identify the patient outside the strict realms of care provision being considered unprofessional and unethical. Irrespective of whether the information disclosure was intentional or unintentional, it would still be considered a breach of HIPPA regulations (Black, 2020).

3. Based on the analysis of your social media, discuss what areas of your social media activity reflect Christian values as they relate to respecting human value and dignity for all individuals. Describe areas of your social media activity that could be improved.

Nurses are expected to keep the medical information of all patients confidential. This is regardless of nationality, ethnicity, medical condition, age, gender and other demographic peculiarities. As a professional nurse, there is an understanding about the professional responsibility and commitment to preserving the dignity and value of all patients while understanding the ethical and moral duty to provide compassionate care that respects the innate dignity and worth of all persons. These understandings are matched with the Christian values of treating others with respect. Breaching the privacy of a patient implies lacking respect for the patient as information that should be kept confidential is instead presented to others without the express permission of the patient (Westrick, 2014).

The social media activity presents some concerns with regards to how to manage relationships. My social media accounts include patients, family and colleagues in my list of acquaintances so that they have access to my conversations and posts. This is an issue of concern since some of the conversations held with family members are not appropriate for patients and medical personnel, and vice versa. This issue can be addressed by creating different social media accounts for specific groups of persons so that appropriate conversations can be held within acceptable boundaries without violating professional standards. This would entail having a different social media page for patients, a different one for family, and a different one for other medical personnel and colleagues (Thielst, 2013).

References

Black, B. (2020). Professional Nursing: Concepts & Challenges (9^th ed.). Elsevier.

Thielst, C. (2013). Social Media in Healthcare: Connect, Communicate, Collaborate (2^nd ed.). Health Administration Press.

University of Southern Indiana (2020). Nursing Programs: Professional Standards & Behavior. https://www.usi.edu/health/nursing/mission-philosophy/code-of-ethics/professional-standards-behavior/

Westrick, S. (2014). Essentials of Nursing Law and Ethics (2^nd ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Professionalism and Social Media
Social media plays a significant role in the lives of nurses in both their professional and personal lives. Additionally, social media is now considered a mainstream part of the process for recruiting and hiring candidates. Inappropriate or unethical conduct on social media can create legal problems for nurses as well as the field of nursing.
Login to all social media sites in which you engage. Review your profile, pictures and posts. Based on the professional standards of nursing, identify items that would be considered unprofessional and potentially detrimental to your career and that negatively impact the reputation of the nursing field.
In 500-750 words, summarize the findings of your review. Include the following:
1. Describe the posts or conversations in which you have engaged that might be considered inappropriate based on the professional standards of nursing.
2. Discuss why nurses have a responsibility to uphold a standard of conduct consistent with the standards governing the profession of nursing at work and in their personal lives. Include discussion of how personal conduct can violate HIPAA or be considered unethical or unprofessional. Provide an example of each to support your answer.
3. Based on the analysis of your social media, discuss what areas of your social media activity reflect Christian values as they relate to respecting human value and dignity for all individuals. Describe areas of your social media activity that could be improved.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to Lopes Write. Refer to the Lopes Write Technical Support articles for assistance.    Professionalism and Social Media Essay Discussion Paper