Why Do Nurses Use Social Media

Much of the population today is involved in some sort of social media platform; either Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, or YouTube. These sites can be beneficial and serve to be informative or provide entertainment, however nurses must be cautious to use any type of social media. Nurses should be aware of potential consequences of accidentally breaching patient’s privacy and confidentiality, or inappropriately engaging with patients online. These consequences vary in severity from termination to time spent in jail. In addition, student nurses should be just as aware because they could get dismissed from their school’s program or worse. Breaching a patient’s privacy and confidentiality can occur unknowingly and unintentionally; this could be because there are many myths about social media that need to be dispelled, or nurses are unaware of their company policy. Fortunately, there are numerous ways to protect one’s nursing license or potential license and prevent consequences if they want to participate in social media. In 2005, 5% of Americans used social media and today, 77% of Americans use it (Surani, Hirani, Elias, …show more content…
Nurses should not have engagements with current or past patients on social media. The boundaries of professionalism are hazy when one gets friendlier with a patient or their family. The NCBSN white paper suggests maintaining professional boundaries on social media (2011). Even if the patient contacted the nurse first, the nurse should remain professional and decline further communication. Susan J. Westrick suggested readers to “consider professional boundary issues and do not “friend” patients or families you are caring for or are likely to be caring for in the future” (2016). It is best for the nurse to proceed with caution and act with professionalism when communicating with patients online. It is acceptable to decline friendships online for ethical