Social Media in Healthcare

Second blog post here we come!

I’ve been working as a nurse for five years now and I’m still learning new things about my profession and about myself. I think that since the pandemic, I’ve really come into my own both professionally and personally. The pandemic plays a big role in my growth because it changed my views as a nurse in many ways. I think people in general try to always do their best, especially as healthcare professionals. We want to be satisfied with our work for the day and feel a sense of accomplishment and pride. This, however, was quite challenging during the pandemic. Stress that was already rising due to obvious factors, was then compounded by posts on social media. The wildly spread misinformation surrounding Covid was discouraging and frustrating. During this time, I saw many healthcare professionals posting and sharing misinformation. I believe that regardless of your privacy settings we need to consider the public when posting on social media. As healthcare professionals, we need to keep in mind that we are constantly representing our college and our employers. We also must be mindful that our actions and opinions can impact the public differently than people outside of our profession. In the case of mass misinformation during the pandemic, I chose to encourage education rather than create further conflict. As a nurse, I can’t help but feel a sense of responsibility when it comes to the health and safety of the public. But, in saying this, it is important to keep in mind healthy boundary setting.

Social media use during the pandemic had some negative effects, though this isn’t to say that social media couldn’t be beneficial if used responsibly. I use Instagram and Facebook regularly to stay connected to family and friends, but I discovered through a social media self-audit that I didn’t have any professional presence online. I realized I will need a professional social media platform for the purpose of networking and further participation in my graduate studies. I have since created a Twitter account for the purpose of connecting with other healthcare professionals. The use of this ePortfolio will be beneficial throughout my studies to store information, resources and collections of work. If used responsibly, social media can be a great way to share information, opinions and beliefs.

Nursing during the pandemic highlighted many areas of improvement in our health care system, and in many ways led me to pursue my masters degree. I would say that my professional values include ongoing education, multidisciplinary approaches to healthcare, and patient centered care. I consider myself a leader among my peers, and a resource for many. I hope to create a professional identity for myself that is always welcoming, supportive and knowledgeable. Currently I work as a frontline nurse in an acute psychiatric unit. My goal is to broaden my knowledge in healthcare and help guide other nurses to best support the above listed values.

It’s interesting to consider the pros and cons of social media use in healthcare and I hope to expand on this topic in further posts!