Published
from the white paper a nurse's guide to the use of social media
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:
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.
pa license renewal: are you guilty of a crime of "moral turpitude"? dui, drug crime
Thank You SCSBN!! There have been so many posters who have blatently described binge drinking, described where they go to school and/or facts about their patients. With just the school and perhaps the age of the student it is fairly easy to narrow it down to who is doing all the big mouth bragging. One important rule...first do no harm-to your career and to your patient.
There's an interesting look at the flip side of social media in a blog on learningext.com
The blog entry asks if it's okay for patients to take pictures or videotape nurses on the job and post these images on the Web. It also asks if it's fair that there is no guarantee of privacy at work (for nurses), even though patient privacy is protected by the law.
Social media e-professionalism can be a slippery slop. Dr. Jeff Cain and colleagues have authored great articles for educators and professionals defining e-professionalism. I believe that it's important to know what not to do, but it may be more important to model professional behavior on social media to to serve as positive examples for others.
NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN
10 Articles; 19,195 Posts
nurses can positively use electronic social media to share workplace concerns, events that are emotionally charged for support and guidance but must always be mindful of not providing names, explicit details or patient identifiers, including photos, in order to protect patient and nurse privacy. allnurses fully supports these efforts as spelled out in our terms of service.
national council of state boards of nursing
social media guidelines
download pdf brochure: a nurse's guide to the use of social media
ncsbn social media guidelines video: