Do nurses have a responsibility to keep their Facebook professional?

Nurses Professionalism

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I am "Facebook friends" with a large number of my nursing peers. I am often quite surprised at the behavior I see exhibited by them in so public a place.

I see:

1. Lots and lots of foul language/inappropriate pics, etc.

2. Lots and lots of "oh, man, I'm so wasted right now...bout to go to the next bar!!!"

3. Lots and lots of TMI about relationships, affairs, drunkeness, fights, whatever.

On their FB profile, they have it proudly posted that they are "Registered Nurse at So-and-so Hospital", or "Proud PEDI Nurse!" or "School nurse at Ur Dum Akadimy".

I cringe sometimes when I see some of this stuff, and think to myself "what would their employer think?" or, "Hope they're not interviewing soon with a computer-adept manager".

I try to keep my social media as clean as I can, and don't flaunt any of my bad habits for the world to see.

But, what do you think? Do nurses have a responsibility to maintain a professional demeanor on their (supposedly) private social media sites?

Another possibility: Am I an old fart?

Specializes in Med/surg, Quality & Risk.
Your posts (#48/#49) seem to contradict each other...in my opinion. How can you say that what you post is your own business when you previously mentioned you ratted someone else out??

Because it wasn't ON his Facebook. That guy made it EVERYONE'S business when he commented on a local newspaper article as his name, "Registered Pharmacist at Yickety Yak Yak Medical Center in Pueblo, Colorado." And it was a little more than checking in at a bar or posting a picture holding a margarita. He was spewing multiple vile comments and making threats towards a particular segment of society. Frankly he sounded mentally unbalanced, and I wondered if they wished to have their name associated with that sort of behavior.

@Bortaz RN, I feel the same exact way and have similar experiences. One nurse in particular always flaunts how much fun they are having and posts pictures on fb, when they have called out of work for being "sick" that very same day. What a bad precedent this sets for nurses.

Do people not realize that your online identity can follow and haunt you in the present & future?

@Hay RN, Nothing is private online (regardless of whether your fb is private). FB is known across the online community for NOT protecting ones' privacy & exploiting their members.

Specializes in CICU.

Before I was a nurse I had to occasionally hire for my department. I would get HUNDREDS of resumes through Careerbuilder. First step was to toss anything with poor grammar/spelling. Next step? Google the names and search MySpace. Trashy photos or foul language = resume in trash.

To me, stuff like that just shows a lack of common sense, and I prefer common sense in my employees and co-workers.

My employer is listed on my FB profile, and I am "friends" with many co-workers. I have a basic rule - if I wouldn't hang the picture on my locker at work then I do not post it, or let myself be tagged, on FB. Same with posts / memes, etc.

Another possibility: Am I an old fart?

Haha, no way! I'm 24, and I cannot believe some of the things people post on Facebook. I don't even post swear words, and I've told people that if they are going to post something offensive, don't post it on my wall or in response to me because it reflects on me as a nursing student and a future professional. I've said that I will block them if they post it on my wall.

Of course, I can't control what they post on their site... I can, however, click "Block", "Remove", or "Hide" if it gets to be too much.

Personally, I'm just tired of all of the baby pictures and instagram food pictures.

For sure though, Facebook and other social networks need to be handled with care. Facebook is trying their best to make society an open book. Your information has already been mined and sold. People know where you live, know what you look like, and what your favorite restaurant is. Don't believe me? Check Mylife.com .

I shake my head to younger kids who post stupid pictures of themselves flicking off the camera or drunk at a party. The HR dept have admitted to checking facebook profiles in their decision for hiring. Good luck to them when they need a job.

I've taken a lot of good wisdom here and plan to go trim up my facebook page.

Specializes in Rehab.

I think if you are gonna post these type of things you should not have your employer listed on your fb page , I personally have my page private, no job listed and no coworkers as friends, and I post whatever I want because it's my page , nurses are people to so im tired of these mixed standards for us, we party, get wasted have drama in our lives just like the next person

My personal philosophy with any social media website is less is more.

You don't have to be a saint after you leave work. By all means go bar crawl, do keg stands, swear, laugh at immature/off color things (as long as none of these things affect your ability to do your job safely), but the things you actually put on facebook/twitter/myspace becomes public property and knowledge regardless of how private your settings are. If you want to post pictures from your night out, just leave out the ones that are incriminating. If you want to vent about your work, call someone or come here and do it anonymously. If you see a offensive joke or picture, send it to a few of your friends you know would appreciate it.

I know people like to express themselves through these websites, but if you end up in trouble or putting your job in jeopardy, was it worth it? Nah. Just be smart.

Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

Where do you people that say it is bad draw the line between work and personal life? What I do in my own time is my business. yeah I post pictures of the stupid things I do but what difference does that make to me doing my job? Now if I am posting pics of me shooting heroin into both my eyes I could see the cause for concern. But come on really?

Specializes in Trauma, ER, ICU, CCU, PACU, GI, Cardiology, OR.

needless to say, people should ask themselves prior posting a comment or anything on any wed-cite "is this the portrait of me i want my future boss or my family to judge me by?"....just saying :cool:

I agree. The days we live in now of social networking can play a big part of how you are evaluated as a nurse. For example - nurse posts on FB/twitter getting wasted, up all night partying - works the next day, major patient care error - is that something that can be looked at in court? Do you think that might be pulled to show why the nurse could possibly have made the error ( hung over, tired, possibly still under the effects of alcohol ...)

Also it reflects poorly on your professional image. I watched an episode of the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders and that was a BIG thing for their recruits and played a part into whether they were cut or not.

I try to keep things I post g-rated and not about work

Specializes in CDI Supervisor; Formerly NICU.

People keep yelling "freeeeeeeeedoooooooooooooooom!" and "Wolverinessssssssssssssssss!", but they always leave off the part about freedom requiring responsibility. You, as a nurse, have the right to get drunk and screw around all you want. No one (well, not me at least) is questioning your rights to do as you please. But with those rights comes the need for acting responsibly. If you're posting boob shots and pic of you puking up your Margarita...and have your employer listed on the site...you're setting yourself up for a crisis of your own making.

I don't go to my friend's page looking for this stuff. It's right there on my wall because they chose to share it. The minute you choose to share something, it's no longer private information. That nurse dropping F-bombs about our manager never even considered that I could ruin her life by simply hitting the "share" link under her post on my wall. Then the other 30 coworkers from our hospital that are on my friends list would see it....what are the chances that at least one of them is either 1. A snitch or 2. Friends with the manager, and would immediately show it to them?

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