Today I wrote a blog post for one of our partner projects, a social network for nurses and nursing researchers called InspireNet. In it, I talk a little bit about the importance of using social media positively in health practice, specifically in nursing.
One increasingly common strategy for establishing codes of conduct in social media is through the use of top-down policies and documents that establish “social media guidelines” for your organization. I’m absolutely in favour of having established policies around what is, and is not, considered acceptable online behaviour. But, as I explained,
Guidelines can’t capture everything… and there will always be a need for individuals who choose to participate on social tools to exercise good judgment, and to seek out mentorship and guidance from peers. There are many health professionals who have begun to experiment successfully and to benefit from participation in social media communities such as InspireNet.
I’m far from the only one thinking and writing about this issue. In fact, there are already many great resources already available to health professionals looking to get started using social media for professional development and practice. But because of the risk-averse nature of the health care field, sometimes these resources take a tone that focuses solely on the risks of participating in social media, rather than the potential rewards. Take this recent video on social media guidelines.
The video above does a great job explaining the risks of social media for nurses in plain and understandable language. Providing social media guidelines are a great way of broaching this topic with staff, but in my opinion, our approach to social media cannot be focused solely on what could go wrong.
By starting the video instead with a vignette of a positive interaction, say a fast response to a patient complaint by a nurse on a hospital Facebook page, this discussion of social media may have had the potential to inspire creative solutions to social media in health, in addition to its potential problems.
As it is, I feel this video raises more questions than it answers: what should you do if a patient requests to be your friend on Facebook? What if you come across a status update that could indicate a medical emergency? What if it is the patient themselves that releases sensitive information about their health? Is it, or should it be, a nurse’s responsibility to be able to explain to them the implications of talking about their health online?
These are all situations that may require a response, but if our health professionals are too fearful to contribute their expertise online, then we are missing an opportunity to engage positively with our core mission: improving patient health and care.
Social media guidelines should not simply provide legal recourse for health administrators to discipline employees for “inappropriate use” of new technologies. They may do so, but they should also offer true guidance: positive and proactive examples of how to use social media effectively and safely. Our office’s own social media guidelines are in development, and if you’re interested in this issue, I’ll be talking more about it at the upcoming e-Health Conference May 27-30 in Vancouver. I’d love to hear your thoughts on guidelines (and positive guidance) in the comments.