Be Careful When Posting

[TheCommuter]

As many of you are already aware, allnurses.com is the largest online nursing community on the world wide web and one of the most commonly visited professional social networks in existence today. The variety of forums, sheer number of wonderful members, supportive atmosphere, and constant exchange of information all contribute to making this website a fantastic virtual place for spending one's free time.

Personally, I became a member more than seven years ago while I was a student at a school of vocational nursing (LVN). As I have grown professionally and personally in the nursing field, allnurses.com has been right there with me. During my tenure here, I have completed an LVN program, graduated from an RN bridge program, and worked as a nurse for more than six years. I am still amazed at the fact that I continue to learn new tidbits on an almost daily basis while browsing these informative forums.

This message is a friendly, heartfelt reminder to exercise the utmost caution when posting personal information about you, your school, classmates, instructors, coworkers, and place of employment. After all, allnurses.com is the largest online community of nurses and nursing students, and clever readers are more than capable of putting two and two together to come up with you.

Even if you have not posted the name of your school, your workplace's name, or your exact geographic location, some inquisitive people have been able to read the very detailed posts and figure out that the member is someone with whom they are acquainted 'in real life.' In fact, this scenario has played out on more than one occasion.

While these forums are generally safe to vent and release some steam, think twice before insulting your professors or posting too much information about the patients and families that you encounter during your clinical rotations. Tread carefully when posting vivid details about the annoying classmate or the critical coworker. Exercise some caution when criticizing your nursing program. You absolutely do not want any posted material to come back and haunt you at a later date.

In summary, be careful when posting. Continue to enjoy the multiple forums, fellow members, continual flow of information, and abundant resources that make allnurses.com the biggest and best online nursing community on the internet today. After all, this website would not be the same without your great posts, opinions, contributions, viewpoints, and discourse. I know that I speak for others when I say that we love having you all here. You, the readers, are the reason that allnurses.com rocks!

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

I've had real life colleagues think they recognize me, but no one has gotten it right yet. (At least, not anyone who has actually talked to me about it.) I have been guilty of laughing out loud at one of the humor threads I've posted in, and a colleague will want to know what I'm reading, then start reading it on their own and call me over to read "this post that's just hysterically funny." A few times it's been my own post. And once, someone else spoke up and claimed their post.

I think it's potentially very dangerous to have your own picture as avatar. People get drawn into arguments on some of these threads, and I know people don't think before they post. I'd hate to have someone have one of their vent posts come back and bite them in the derierre. (Oh, pshaw! I shouldn't use words I can't spell!)

If you post on social media and use your own picture, or list your job or school on you FaceBook, MySpace, Frienster or other pages, then you pretty much deserve what you get if this go wrong for you. Even if you don't friend your boss, someone else who has friended you could rat on you.

[BloomNurseRN, ASN, BSN, RN]

This is a GREAT reminder!

I always post with the thought that I could easily be recognized and never say anything that I wouldn't say to someone in person. That being said, I didn't want to be the weirdo that has her picture as her avatar, as people seem to think that's a bad idea, so I have changed it.

I have seen social media blow up in someone's face. A girl in my class had posted someone most people would see as completely innocent on Facebook. Someone (not a nice person) decided to take it to the dean of nursing who felt that it was inappropriate. She almost lost her place in the nursing program because of it.

It doesn't seem like much until it's coming back to bite you in the butt. Better to be safe than sorry.

[Stephalump]

This is a GREAT reminder!

I always post with the thought that I could easily be recognized and never say anything that I wouldn't say to someone in person. That being said, I didn't want to be the weirdo that has her picture as her avatar, as people seem to think that's a bad idea, so I have changed it.

I have seen social media blow up in someone's face. A girl in my class had posted someone most people would see as completely innocent on Facebook. Someone (not a nice person) decided to take it to the dean of nursing who felt that it was inappropriate. She almost lost her place in the nursing program because of it.

It doesn't seem like much until it's coming back to bite you in the butt. Better to be safe than sorry.

Same thing happened in my program. A guy posted something about one of his clinical assignments on Facebook (no name or anything like that, but descriptive and the name of the hospital) and the hospital found out and was furious. He came very, very close to being kicked out of the program over it. Lesson to students: don't tag your clinical site in your Facebook posts! If you must, just talk about the awesomeness it :-)

Personally, I joined this site solely for posting on my school's local thread during the application cycle. So now that I've met my fellow nursing students, I'n easily recognizable by at least 40 people out there. Meaning I only have endless LOVE for my program, fellow students, and professors And clinical assignments? What clinical assignments???

I'll probably find a way to incognito myself soon.

[hiddencatRN, BSN, RN]

Personally, I joined this site solely for posting on my school's local thread during the application cycle. So now that I've met my fellow nursing students, I'n easily recognizable by at least 40 people out there. Meaning I only have endless LOVE for my program, fellow students, and professors And clinical assignments? What clinical assignments???

Yup. This is how I've recognized people and been recognized. I had a classmate come up to me once and say "What's up HIDDENCAT!" as in, actually using my sn here, and I ran in to a graduate of my program who I just got this feeling was a certain poster here and I was right.

Specialties are small communities too, and take a specialty and your general location....it's amazing how narrowed down things can get.

If I ever decide to delete my account and come back "fresh" I won't disclose my state or my school program. But I'm too attached to all my "likes" to seriously consider that, lol!

[ZooMommyRN, ADN, RN]

And now you never know if your post is going to win the "lotto" and end up on Facebook, not super thrilled with that one!

[hiddencatRN, BSN, RN]

And now you never know if your post is going to win the "lotto" and end up on Facebook, not super thrilled with that one!

Yup, me neither. I just found out about that yesterday. I post here instead of my Facebook status for a reason!

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Periodically, threads like this are started to remind members and those new to online websites, that anything one posts is instantanously available for the world to see. Allnurses is heavily indexed by search engines who tag our content/conversations under health categories.. That is why when you search a topic "nursing schools", " nursing activism", "nursing resume help" we are in the top of search returns.

Ps: We do reopen threads when salvageable. :)