N 402 Anoka Ramsey Community College Social Media Policy Presentation

Social Media:
The realities of an
online presence for
RN?s
Student name
NURS 402-04 Psychosocial/Inter-professional
Communication for RN?s
Minnesota State University, Mankato
Instructor Name
Date
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Social Media Policies
? AH, a large, multi-city school district serving several
suburbs: Social media policies apply to all employees
including the 97 nurses on staff.
? Employees should observe the following rules for
personal use of Social Media
? Consider your role as a school employee before
posting any content that would show ?obscene,
profane, vulgar, harassing, threatening, bullying,
libelous, or defamatory or that discusses or
encourages any illegal activity, use of illegal drugs,
inappropriate alcohol use, sexual behavior or
sexual harassment.? (Anoka Hennepin School
District #11, 2015, 5.1)
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Social Media Policies
(Contintued)
?
?
?
?
Views expressed are the employees and do not reflect the district
No disclosure of private, proprietary or confidential information
Employees may not use or post graphic/logo without permission
Employees have responsibility to maintain appropriate studentemployee relationships at all times
? If an employee chooses to engage with a student group or public
group, they do so as an employee
(Anoka Hennepin School District #11, 2015)
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Social Media Benefits
to Nurses
? Four domains that are positively
impacted by social media
? Academics:
? fostering mentors,
enhance education in
rural settings
? Support through
transition periods
? Reduce geographical
separation and stress
? Clinical Practice:
? Connect and advocate
for their profession and
patients
(Jackson et al., 2014)
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Social Media Benefits
to Nurses
? Research:
? Broadcast research findings
? Monitor health and facility collection
? Administration:
? Connect and exchange information
(Jackson et al., 2014)
? Reduces recruitment barriers for surveys
(Bethel et al., 2020)
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Social Media Risks for
Nurses
? Crossing professional and personal lines
? Misinformation spread
? Breach of patient and staff privacy
? Loss of public?s trust over use of social
media
? Third-Party use agreements and data
breaches
(Geraghty et al., 2021)
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Social Media Risks for
Nurses
? Loss of in-person interaction can lead to:
? Loss of non-verbal and verbal skills
? Loss of communication skills
? Loss of ability to empathize
? Loss of active-listening skills
? Disruptions in clinical environment
? Loss of situational awareness
? Loss of critical thinking
? Decreased patient outcome
(Geraghty et al., 2021)
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Moral Practice Issues of Social
Media
? Social Media posts that breach confidentiality and Privacy:
? violations decrease patient trust
? 18 different patient identifiers including geographical subdivisions
smaller than the state (UC Berkeley, 2021)
? Patient posts violate nonmaleficence code even if never identified:
? Digital information is permanent
? Risk of emotional pain or harm always possible
? Professional Integrity:
? Questionable posts of other nurses
? Professional boundaries
? Inappropriate posts about patients, employers or profession
(Henderson & Dahnke, 2015)
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Workplace Social Media Concerns
New employees are not
given training on the
employer?s social media
policies.
New employee
makes one of many
possible social
media acts of
misconduct
The policies have not
been updated since
2015
Electronic communication and social media
use growing at exponential rate
Workplace Social
Media
Recommendations
Ensure nurses understand the appropriate
social media use regarding:
? Privacy and confidentiality
? Possible consequences including Board of Nursing
implications or employer consequences
? Understand Common Misunderstandings and Myths
? How to circumvent issues (National Council of State
Boards of Nursing, 2011)
Workplace Social
Media
Recommendation
Current Social Media Policy should be reviewed every year (Karpman &
Drisko, 2016)
Current Social Media Policy should address the following areas:
? What is considered social media
? Who is authorized to represent employer
? What are the legal restrictions, regulations and sensitive information
with special section for nurses addressing HIPAA
? What is acceptable content and conduct (do?s and don?ts) (FirmPlay,
2021)
Workplace Social Media Recommendations
AH should add new hire orientation on social
media
Existing AH employees should be given on-line
orientation on social media
Documentation of expectations given to new employee to read
Documentation of expectations given to new employee to read
Documentation of expectations given to new employee to sign
and return to employer
Documentation of expectations given to new employee to
download, sign and return to employer
Summary
SOCIAL MEDIA IS HERE TO STAY
SOCIAL MEDIA, LIKE ANY OTHER TOOL, IS
DIRECTED BY THE INTENT OF USE
EMPLOYEES MUST BE TRAINED IN
KNOWLEDGE AND USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
TO PROPERLY UTILIZE IT
References
Anoka Hennepin School District #11. (2015, October 26). Employee use of social media. Anoka-Hennepin
district. http://anoka-k12.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=2
school
Bethel, C., Rainbow, J. G., & Dudding, K. M. (2020). Recruiting nurses via social media for survey studies.
Research, 70(3), 231?235. https://doi.org/10.1097/nnr.0000000000000482
Nursing
FirmPlay. (2021). Social media policy 101. https://www.firmplay.com/social-media-policy/what-is-a-social-media-policy
Geraghty, S., Hari, R., & Oliver, K. (2021). Using social media in contemporary nursing: Risks and benefits.
Journal of Nursing, 30(18), 1078?1082. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjon.2021.30.18.1078
British
Henderson, M., & Dahnke, M. D. (2015). The ethical use of social media in nursing practice. MEDSURG Nursing, 24(1),
62?64.
Jackson, J., Fraser, R., & Ash, P. (2014). Social media and nurses: Insights for promoting health for individual and
professional use. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 19(3).
https://doi.org/10.3912/ojin.vol19no03man02
References
Karpman, H. E., & Drisko, J. (2016). Social media policy in social work education: A review and
recommendations.
Journal of Social Work Education, 52(4), 398?408.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2016.1202164
National Council of State Boards of Nursing. (2011). White paper: A nurse’s guide to the use of social
Journal of Practical Nursing.
media.
UC Berkeley. (2021). Uc berkeley committee for protection of human subjects. UC Berkeley human research projection
program. https://cphs.berkeley.edu/hipaa/hipaa18.html
SOCIAL MEDIA
?
I S AT U S O G B E H
?
M I N N E S O TA S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y, M A N K AT O
?
N 402 – 8 P SYCH OS OCI A L/I N TE R- P ROF ES S ION A L
C O M M U N I C AT I O N F O R R N S
?
D R . E L L E N V O R B E C K , , D N P, A N P – B C , A R N P
Martech.or
g
SOCIAL MEDIA
POLICY
?
PHS a growing home-care agency, social media
guidelines/policies were created and needs to be
followed by all employees of this agency
?
?
?
?
All social media activities related to PHS, will need
to be approved by the agency and through
designated department in charge of social media
PHS will require employee to remove any and all
posting affiliated with the agency if it does not
align with PHS standards
PHS have the right to monitor employee’s social
media through a monitoring programs
Content and activity may be disclosed to law
enforcement and government officials
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY
(PHS, 2021)
?Prohibits any online activities that are inconsistent with, or would negatively
impact, PHS mission, values, and brand (PHS, 2021)?
SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY (CONT.)
?
PHS employees utilizing social media
should follow these guidelines/policies:
Speak in first person
? Be clear and concise that you are talking
for yourself and not on behalf of the
company (include a disclaimer)
? Disclose your connection with PHS and
your role there if talking about the
company
? Keeping a nurse-patient relationship,
employees should not send or accept
any ?friend? or connection request from
patients or their families
(PHS, 2021)
Social Media related to PHS
?
Present a business opportunity for PHS in the
form of communication with customers,
potential customers, marketing, recruiting,
and allowing to put personality and face to
the mission of PHS
?
Allows to show the work and impact that PHS
have on patient life (with patient (PHS,
consent
of
2021)
posting of their medical journey at PHS)
?
SOCIAL MEDIA BENEFITS
?
Benefits of social media
?
?
?
?
Help connects nurses with various professional development resources
Allow nurses to follow groups, individuals, and organization that will provide them with
up-to-date information about nursing trend
Serve as a platform for nurses to share important discussions and exchange ideas and
opinions with colleagues around the world
Exposing nurses to evidence-based care information based on the latest research to
help deliver optimal care and for the best outcome for their patients.
? (Reinbeck, 2019)
SOCIAL MEDIA BENEFITS
(CONT.)
?
Risks of social media
?
?
?
?
Unprofessional contents posted by nurses can
reflect unfavorably of the nurse and affiliated
institutions (Ventola, 2014)
Can violate nurse to patient relationship/boundary
(Ventola, 2014)
Violation of confidentiality and privacy of patient
information (Hao & Gao, 2017)
Can be a distraction and interruptions from work,
that can cause errors and damage to patient or
even death (Hao & Gao, 2017)
MORAL PRACTICE ISSUES
?Social media in the health care setting raises a
number of professionalism issues including
concerns related to privacy and confidentiality;
professional boundaries; recruitment; the
integrity, accountability, and trustworthiness of
health care professionals; and the line between
professional and personal identity (Parsi &
Elster, 2015)?
?
?
?
?
?
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BYSA-NC
Possible unintentional self-disclosure by
nursing professionals and possible violations
of confidentiality laws
Nurses disclosing private information about
patients on their social media
Even with no patient identifier, the
descriptions of the patient?s
health/information can easily identify the
patient
Reliability of information on social media can
be questionable, such information may or
may not be from reliable sources
Nurses need to maintain
privacy/confidentiality of patient to keep a
professional relationship and trust
(Parsi & Elster, 2015)
WORKPLACE SOCIAL MEDIA
?
Nurses must recognize that they have the ethical and legal obligation to
maintain patient privacy and confidentiality at all time (National Council of
State Boards of Nursing, 2011)
?
In most cases, social media issues that do occur is due to inappropriate
disclosure or posting that was unintentional
?
?
?
Nurse may fail to recognize content posted or sent can be disseminated by others.
Mistakenly believe that communication or post are private and is accessible to the
intended recipient
Believing that deleted contents are not longer accessible
(National Council of State Boards of Nursing, 2011)
WORKPLACE SOCIAL MEDIA
?
Social Media Recommendation in the
workplace
?
?
Proactively develop a strategic plan and
intentional approach to social media usage
(what is the intention of the post and what
the intended outcome of this post is)
Provide training to healthcare professionals
on tools and tips of the usage of social media
that would not cause any harm to the
company, patient, and themselves
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC
(Jackson et al., 2014)
WORKPLACE SOCIAL
MEDIA (CONT.)
Workplace Recommendation:
?
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY
Using reflective practice
? Reflective practice is the
intentional approach to explore
in order to learn
? The workplace should monitor
the way of how social media
affect their employee
? Ask questions on the benefits
and risks of social media (is
social media distracting,
relaxing, beneficial, supportive
resources, etc)
? By doing this on a regular basis
every 3-6months, can help the
workplace determine the
beneficial usage of social media
(Jackson et al., 2014)
WORKPLACE SOCIAL
MEDIA (CONT.)
?
Development of a social media policy that has a clear
expectations and guidelines for healthcare professionals
? Policies help handle any violations that has occurred within
the organization?s policies
? Healthcare professional who contributes to making and
following the policies would help contribute to shaping the
company?s social media
? Allows healthcare professionals to become an advocate to
technology and future advancement of the organizations of
this growing technology world
? This social media policy should include:
? Details about what can be shared about company
information
? Address professional and personal usage
? Prohibit any behavior not align with company?s
mission and standards,
? Monitoring and enforcement
? Confidential information
? Consequences of any violations of social media
(Jackson et al., 2014)
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-ND
WORKPLACE SOCIAL MEDIA (CONT.)
?
Professional Education
?
?
Organizational Promotion
?
?
?
Allow healthcare professional to use online nursing resources to enhance
nursing/clinical knowledge/skills
Usage of social media to communicate with patients, market, promote, fundraise, and
customer service and support
Allows to get feedback from patients
Electronic communication between patients and healthcare professionals
?
Nurses can help patient navigate assigned organization?s website to communicate with
their providers for questions, medications refills, etc.
(Ventola, 2014)
SUMMARY
?
Social media can be a positive impact on healthcare if use correctly. This can
create many reliable and developmental resources for nurses for personal
and professional growth
?
Even with positive impact, there is always risk that comes with using social
media
?
?
It is important that these risk are avoided to ensure the safety and privacy of patients
Guidelines are setup to help with patient privacy, to control ethical issues
that uprise, and creates a safety net for patient when it comes to the usage
of social media
REFERENCES
?
Hao, J. & Gao, B. (2017). Advantages and disadvantages for nurses of using social media. Journal of
Primary Health Care and General Practice,1(1), 1-3. retrieved from https://scientonline.org/openaccess/advantages-and-disadvantages-for-nurses-of-using-social-media.pdf
?
Jackson, J., Fraser, R., & Ash, P. (2014). Social media and nurses: Insights for promoting health for
individual and professional use. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 19(3). doi:
10.3912/OJIN.Vol19No03Man02
?
National Council of State Boards of Nursing. (2011). White paper: A nurse’s guide to the use of social
media. Journal Practical Nursing. 1(3):3-9. PMID: 22479966.
?
Parsi, k. & Elster, N. (2015). Why can?t we be friends? A case-based analysis of ethical issues with
social media in health care. American Medical Association Journal of Ehtics, 17(11). 1009-1018. doi:
10.1001/journalof ethics.2015.17.11.peer1-1511
?
Pediatric Home Service. (2021). Employee handbook. PDF file.
?
Reinbeck, D. (2019). How nurses can use social media to their advantage. Nursing, 49(5), 61-63. doi:
10.1097/01.NURSE,.0000554624.05347.6E
?
Ventola, C. (2014). Social media and health care professionals: Benefits, risks, and best practices.
Pharmacy and Therapeutics, 39(7), 491-499. Retrieved from
Reprinted with permission from NCSBN
White Paper: A Nurse?s Guide. . .
White Paper: A Nurse?s Guide
to the Use of Social Media
August 2011
Introduction
The use of social media and other electronic communication is increasing exponentially with growing numbers of social media
outlets, platforms and applications, including blogs, social networking sites, video sites, and online chat rooms and forums. Nurses
often use electronic media both personally and professionally. Instances of inappropriate use of electronic media by nurses have
been reported to boards of nursing (BONs) and, in some cases, reported in nursing literature and the media. This document is
intended to provide guidance to nurses using electronic media in a manner that maintains patient privacy and confidentiality.
Social media can benefit health care in a variety of ways, including fostering professional connections, promoting timely
communication with patients and family members, and educating and informing consumers and health care professionals.
Nurses are increasingly using blogs, forums and social networking sites to share workplace experiences particularly events that
have been challenging or emotionally charged. These outlets provide a venue for the nurse to express his or her feelings, and
reflect or seek support from friends, colleagues, peers or virtually anyone on the Internet. Journaling and reflective practice have
been identified as effective tools in nursing practice. The Internet provides an alternative media for nurses to engage in these
helpful activities. Without a sense of caution, however, these understandable needs and potential benefits may result in the nurse
disclosing too much information and violating patient privacy and confidentiality.
Health care organizations that utilize electronic and social media typically have policies governing employee use of such media
in the workplace. Components of such policies often address personal use of employer computers and equipment, and personal
computing during work hours. The policies may address types of websites that may or may not be accessed from employer
computers. Health care organizations also maintain careful control of websites maintained by or associated with the organization,
limiting what may be posted to the site and by whom.
The employer?s policies, however, typically do not address the nurse?s use of social media outside of the workplace. It is in this
context that the nurse may face potentially serious consequences for inappropriate use of social media.
Confidentiality and Privacy
To understand the limits of appropriate use of social media, it is important to have an understanding of confidentiality and privacy
in the health care context. Confidentiality and privacy are related, but distinct concepts. Any patient information learned by
the nurse during the course of treatment must be safeguarded by that nurse. Such information may only be disclosed to other
members of the health care team for health care purposes. Confidential information should be shared only with the patient?s
informed consent, when legally required or where failure to disclose the information could result in significant harm. Beyond these
very limited exceptions the nurse?s obligation to safeguard such confidential information is universal.
Privacy relates to the patient?s expectation and right to be treated with dignity and respect. Effective nurse-patient relationships
are built on trust. The patient needs to be confident that their most personal information and their basic dignity will be protected
by the nurse. Patients will be hesitant to disclose personal information if they fear it will be disseminated beyond those who have
a legitimate ?need to know.? Any breach of this trust, even inadvertent, damages the particular nurse-patient relationship and the
general trustworthiness of the profession of nursing.
Federal law reinforces and further defines privacy through the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). HIPAA
regulations are intended to protect patient privacy by defining individually identifiable information and establishing how this
information may be used, by whom and under what circumstances. The definition of individually identifiable information includes
any information that relates to the past, present or future physical or mental health of an individual, or provides enough information
that leads someone to believe the information could be used to identify an individual.
Breaches of patient confidentiality or privacy can be intentional or inadvertent and can occur in a variety of ways. Nurses may
breach confidentiality or privacy with information he or she posts via social media. Examples may include comments on social
www.ncsbn.org
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Journal of Practical Nursing | Fall 2011 | 3
White Paper: A Nurse?s Guide. . .
networking sites in which a patient is described with sufficient detail to be identified, referring to patients in a degrading or
demeaning manner, or posting video or photos of patients. Additional examples are included at the end of this document.
Possible Consequences
Potential consequences for inappropriate use of social and electronic media by a nurse are varied. The potential consequences
will depend, in part, on the particular nature of the nurse?s conduct.
BON Implications
Instances of inappropriate use of social and electronic media may be reported to the BON. The laws outlining the basis for
disciplinary action by a BON vary between jurisdictions. Depending on the laws of a jurisdiction, a BON may investigate reports
of inappropriate disclosures on social media by a nurse on the grounds of:
?? Unprofessional conduct;
?? Unethical conduct;
?? Moral turpitude;
?? Mismanagement of patient records;
?? Revealing a privileged communication; and
?? Breach of confidentiality.
If the allegations are found to be true, the nurse may face disciplinary action by the BON, including a reprimand or sanction,
assessment of a monetary fine, or temporary or permanent loss of licensure.
A 2010 survey of BONs conducted by NCSBN indicated an overwhelming majority of responding BONs (33 of the 46 respondents)
reported receiving complaints of nurses who have violated patient privacy by posting photos or information about patients on
social networking sites. The majority (26 of the 33) of BONs reported taking disciplinary actions based on these complaints.
Actions taken by the BONs included censure of the nurse, issuing a letter of concern, placing conditions on the nurse?s license or
suspension of the nurse?s license.
Other Consequences
Improper use of social media by nurses may violate state and federal laws established to protect patient privacy and confidentiality.
Such violations may result in both civil and criminal penalties, including fines and possible jail time. A nurse may face personal
liability. The nurse may be individually sued for defamation, invasion of privacy or harassment. Particularly flagrant misconduct on
social media websites may also raise liability under state or federal regulations focused on preventing patient abuse or exploitation.
If the nurse?s conduct violates the policies of the employer, the nurse may face employment consequences, including termination.
Additionally, the actions of the nurse may damage the reputation of the health care organization, or subject the organization to a
law suit or regulatory consequences.
Another concern with the misuse of social media is its effect on team-based patient care. Online comments by a nurse regarding
co-workers, even if posted from home during nonwork hours, may constitute as lateral violence. Lateral violence is receiving
greater attention as more is learned about its impact on patient safety and quality clinical outcomes. Lateral violence includes
disruptive behaviors of intimidation and bullying, which may be perpetuated in person or via the Internet, sometimes referred
to as ?cyber bullying.? Such activity is cause for concern for current and future employers and regulators because of the patientsafety ramifications. The line between speech protected by labor laws, the First Amendment and the ability of an employer to
impose expectations on employees outside of work is still being determined. Nonetheless, such comments can be detrimental to
a cohesive health care delivery team and may result in sanctions against the nurse.
Common Myths and Misunderstandings of Social Media
While instances of intentional or malicious misuse of social media have occurred, in most cases, the inappropriate disclosure or
posting is unintentional. A number of factors may contribute to a nurse inadvertently violating patient privacy and confidentiality
while using social media. These may include:
?? A mistaken belief that the communication or post is private and accessible only to the intended recipient. The nurse may fail
to recognize that content once posted or sent can be disseminated to others. In fact, the terms of using a social media site
may include an extremely broad waiver of rights to limit use of content.1 The solitary use of the Internet, even while posting
to a social media site, can create an illusion of privacy.
1 One such waiver states, ?By posting user content to any part of the site, you automatically grant the company an irrevocable, perpetual, nonexclusive transferable, fully paid, worldwide license to use,
copy, publicly perform, publicly display, reformat, translate, excerpt (in whole or in part), distribute such user content for any purpose.? Privacy Commission of Canada. (2007, November 7). Privacy and
social networks [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7gWEgHeXcA
4www.ncsbn.org
| Fall 2011 | Journal of Practical Nursing
2
?? A mistaken belief that it is harmless if private information about patients is disclosed if the communication is accessed only
by the intended recipient. This is still a breach of confidentiality.
?? A mistaken belief that it is acceptable to discuss or refer to patients if they are not identified by name, but referred to by
a nickname, room number, diagnosis or condition. This too is a breach of confidentiality and demonstrates disrespect for
patient privacy.
?? Confusion between a patient?s right to disclose personal information about himself/herself (or a health care organization?s
right to disclose otherwise protected information with a patient?s consent) and the need for health care providers to refrain
from disclosing patient information without a care-related need for the disclosure.
?? The ease of posting and commonplace nature of sharing information via social media may appear to blur the line between
one?s personal and professional lives. The quick, easy and efficient technology enabling use of social media reduces the
amount of time it takes to post content and simultaneously, the time to consider whether the post is appropriate and the
ramifications of inappropriate content.
How to Avoid Problems
It is important to recognize that instances of inappropriate use of social media can and do occur, but with awareness and caution,
nurses can avoid inadvertently disclosing confidential or private information about patients.
The following guidelines are intended to minimize the risks of using social media:
?? First and foremost, nurses must recognize that they have an ethical and legal obligation to maintain patient privacy and
confidentiality at all times.
?? Nurses are strictly prohibited from transmitting by way of any electronic media any patient-related image. In addition, nurses
are restricted from transmitting any information that may be reasonably anticipated to violate patient rights to confidentiality
or privacy, or otherwise degrade or embarrass the patient.
?? Do not share, post or otherwise disseminate any information, including images, about a patient or information gained in the
nurse-patient relationship with anyone unless there is a patient care related need to disclose the information or other legal
obligation to do so.
?? Do not identify patients by name or post or publish information that may lead to the identification of a patient. Limiting
access to postings through privacy settings is not sufficient to ensure privacy.
?? Do not refer to patients in a disparaging manner, even if the patient is not identified.
?? Do not take photos or videos of patients on personal devices, including cell phones. Follow employer policies for taking
photographs or video of patients for treatment or other legitimate purposes using employer-provided devices.
?? Maintain professional boundaries in the use of electronic media. Like in-person relationships, the nurse has the obligation
to establish, communicate and enforce professional boundaries with patients in the online environment. Use caution when
having online social contact with patients or former patients. Online contact with patients or former patients blurs the
distinction between a professional and personal relationship. The fact that a patient may initiate contact with the nurse does
not permit the nurse to engage in a personal relationship with the patient.
?? Consult employer policies or an appropriate leader within the organization for guidance regarding work related postings.
?? Promptly report any identified breach of c