social networks and work

Trauma Columnist · Jun 23, 2010

Never ever!

I am friends with a friend who is now my pt but we were friends from years ago.

Its not professional and sends the wrong message IMHO.

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · Jun 23, 2010

I work in a hospital setting where there is a close relationship between bedside nurses, NP's, residents, fellows, and some of the younger attendings. I find that many of my co-workers in all the above roles do have each other as FB friends. I may agree to friend certain people but I'd make sure that I keep the privacy settings activated for information I don't want just about everyone in my friends list to see. I also follow the rule of not posting any work-related stuff anyway although I do see that many doesn't seem to abide by this rule.

carachel2 · Jun 23, 2010

I will NEVER friend a patient. Work and professional life are completely separate. There are people in this world who have no boundaries and see no issues with doing this but I say if you give them one little glimpse into your private life they will push for more and more.

Sometimes I feel like I am the only who feels this way. At my daughters school (elementary!) there are TEACHERS who are "friends" with students. Don't even get me started. I realize their pages may be innocent fluff and they intentionally keep it light, but you can't guarantee that your friends friends pictures and comments will be the same.

pedspnp · Jun 23, 2010

no i would never friend a pt it is hard enough when i see them in walmart, target or wherever, I was talking about coworkers

VivaRN · Jun 23, 2010

Any co-worker that I wouldn't normally share my life with gets put on the friend list with the restricted privacy settings. Yeah, we're "friends" but you can't see anything personal. I like having them as friends in case I change jobs and need to network or stay in touch.

elkpark · Jun 23, 2010

As far as I'm concerned, this is just one more good reason not to be on Facebook (or any of the other social networking sites).

Chaoticdreams33, MSN, RN · Jun 23, 2010

I'm not a NP (yet), but as a RN I prefer to keep my work at work. I have several very good friends that I worked with at a former employer, but we did not become close friends until after we no longer worked together. I just think it works better for me this way. That being said, a lot of the nurses I went to school with hang out aka drink alot, with the other nurses they work with on the floor, and it's been ok for them. As far as FB, I have had friend requests from co-workers and I just politley tell them that I like to keep work relationships professional. So far they are ok with it.

Trauma Columnist · Jun 23, 2010

Ooops - this is what I get by reading too fast!

I am friends on FB with many co-workers in my practice.

I am also friends with one pt who was my friend and co-worker for years before she became my pt.

allnurses Guide · Jun 24, 2010

I am "friends" with several co-workers on FB, but would never put anything on my FB page that I would rather keep to myself. I also have the strictest privacy settings, so the general public can't see any of my information. One of my co-workers had to learn about FB privacy settings the hard way, after one of his patients stalked him on FB and made some indecent proposals. Interesting (and creepy) comment about the teachers "friending" students-the teachers in my town are not allowed to have FB pages, to prevent just that situation from crossing a line. I guess technology is not always a good thing.

Trauma Columnist · Jun 24, 2010

My husband is a high school teacher and does not have a FB account for the reason that he is not to communicate with students outside of school.

Dixiecup · Jun 25, 2010

I don't friend anyone and everyone I work with just because I know who they are. But if we are REALLY good friends of course I will add them.

People don't realize FB is an open book for anyone to view. I never post anything very personal. You never know who may be watching the site. Such as right now I have a judgement against me and I know they are trying to garnish my wages but I don't dare mention the name of the place I work in case the 'debt collector police' are cruising the site.

I have heard of employers of potential employees checking facebook to see the kind of a person they are hiring and not hire a person when they viewed their page. I have also heard of people getting fired after their employer has viewed thier FB page (although personally I think this is no legal).

I don't see anything wrong with some harmless fun but it pays to be super careful with what you post.