Top 10 Reasons We Get Fired! - Social Media

This article continues the series of Top 10 Reasons We Get Fired. Today, we will talk about "social media" and how people use it to stay in touch with people all over the world. Along with this new exciting way of connecting to the world comes problems and issues dealing with behavior which is unbecoming for a healthcare professional.

Top 10 Reasons We Get Fired! - Social Media

Most of us agree that there is much enjoyment and pleasure gained from being part of a social website. My own weakness includes Facebook and of course allnurses.com. I have never been able to get a handle on Twitter but I do know that the so-called celebrities of our time tend to get themselves in a whole heap of trouble because of twittering.

To continue with my articles on the top 10 of reasons we get fired, number 8 has to be social media sites, which include but are not limited to

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
  • Google plus
  • Pinterest
  • MySpace
  • allnurses.com

In today's society it is hard to escape from the Internet and the pleasures it can offer us. We shop, we research and we expose ourselves to millions of strangers every day of the week.

The leading contending for the potential of compromising ourselves is Facebook, this is where we let ourselves loose, discuss our lives, demonstrated by photographs, links to web sites and sometimes we will discuss the huge No No of our current life-Work!

It is not anonymous, anybody can be your friend or foe!

Social networking has become such a problem for our employers that they have introduced new policy and procedures, implemented education and changed new contracts to include clauses specifically related to social networking and the media.

All over the world RN's have been caught and disciplined for posting unprofessional and compromising information, including photographs on social media websites.

* US a student nurse posted on FB a photograph of herself with a placenta

* UK Nurses posted a food fight in the cafeteria of a hospital

* 2 nurses in the UK were fired for tweeting and FB posting embarrassing photographs of themselves at work in their uniform. This included one RN posing with a banana and wearing a diaper.

* 3 Nurses posted jokes about themselves having awful hangovers in work-UK

* RN's posted insensitive jokes about patients, on FB-UK

* California-RN who worked in the ER, took a photo of a patient who had been a stabbing victim and posted it on FB

* New Mexico- Nurses took cell phone photos of patients and posted them on FB

* California-5 RN's discussed patients on FB-denied they had used names nor did they feel they had broken HIPPA

* New Jersey-RN was fired for criticizing paramedics handing of a gunshot victim on FB

* Manila-15 Nurses fired for liking a FB post criticizing hospital management.

* RNs making friends with patients on social media websites, causing a conflict in interest.

* In one OR recently, staff drew on the face of a patient whilst the patient was unconscious-photos were taken and tweeted.

If you search the Internet for Nurses who are fired for inappropriate social media tweets or postings - you will find multiple pages of information.

I know of a very competent RN who was annoyed with her manager, so posted a rant on FB that included a video recording about their problems and issues. The words she used were perceived as inappropriate and derogative to say the least.

One of her co-workers copied a link of the whole posting and emailed it to their manager.

The RN was suspended pending investigation and eventually lost her job.

Sometimes we want to moan and complain about work I suggest, you refrain from describing work related problems on FB. In fact I would suggest you are cautious what you reveal to anybody about your work situation, it is amazing how things get taken out of proportion.

Familiarize yourself with the policy and procedures that your place of work has implemented. Do not say anything about your company, their P &P or post about management on FB and media sites.

Some things do come back and bite you! I am only glad when I was young and had my wild days that FB was not around to record my misdemeanors, however harmless they appeared to be to me. My mistakes are not on recorded on FB for eternity, they are lost back in time before the internet was available! I will not be embarrassed by photo's or videos of inappropriate behavior forever immortalized in cyberspace-and I thank my lucky stars I was born too soon!

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madwife2002

About madwife2002, BSN, RN

RN with 26 years of experience many of those years spent in dialysis. I have worked in acute care, home, ICHD as a CN, FA, and currently a director.

26 Articles   4,777 Posts

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Oh wow, amazes me all the stupidities committed by these nurses. I guess ignorance and poor judgment can abound in any other profession. But a nurse?! Actually any other professionals in the healthcare system should advocate for patients, and have their well-being as a priority at the very least.

My jaw dropped as I was reading the nurses actions you listed. Very sad. I might be too green and naive, but it truly seems unbelievable a nurse would commit any of those shameful acts. :/

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

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Specializes in ICU.

Don't forget - it doesn't have to be anything that clear cut.

A good rule of thumb is to never friend patients or patient family members. At the last place I worked, one person got fired for posting something about how she had a horrible headache all day and had trouble concentrating. She was friends with a few family members of a patient she was taking care of her that day, and they reported her because she admitted she was "impaired" that day. She ended up losing her job. Just remember - it's not safe to post anything but "I love my job and my coworkers!" If you can't say that, don't post anything.

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Specializes in Progressive Care, Cardiology, Pulmonary, Stroke.

I just don't have a fb..... period! I prefer my social interactions in real life :D

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Don't friend your boss, either, and be very wary of even what coworkers you friend. One of my jobs has a policy to not be friends with anyone in a leadership or management position over you, and my boss tried to friend me later that week!

Also, set your profile to the strictest privacy settings. This won't keep people from being able to screenshot what you say, of course, but at least limits who can see what about your personal life.

And even though I am a mouthy person who likes to rant once in awhile, I never, ever talk about work on FB unless it's super positive, like thanking my team members for getting through a rough day.

It's simply not worth it.

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

I am Facebook friends with a few coworkers and even my immediate supervisor, but I have extremely high security settings and also use limitations on who can see what I post- to those I work with, it looks like I haven't posted anything in the last 2.5 years (the length of time I've been in my current position). That little button next to the blue post button lets you customize who can see the post. I use the custom setting to restrict it from anyone even remotely related to my job- and I still post as though the whole world can read it.

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Specializes in hospice.

There are not ten reasons in this article why nurses get fired. There is only one: STUPID. Clearly being educated enough to work as a nurse and being smart are not always the same thing.

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Specializes in RN, BSN, CHDN.

duskyjewel I do not understand what you mean? This is a series of articles

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There are not ten reasons in this article why nurses get fired. There is only one: STUPID. Clearly being educated enough to work as a nurse and being smart are not always the same thing.

It states on the article that this is a series of articles. This one specifically is #8 reason.

The next one she/he posts will be reason #7 and so forth. Not that difficult to figure out :)

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

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