Dear SUN Member:
We're all seeing lots of posts from health care workers online, and want to make sure we're conducting ourselves in the appropriate way. As a result, members are asking about best practices when posting on social media.
The following are suggestions from the Canadian Nurses Protective Society regarding social media etiquette and responsibilities for nurses:
- You can’t control who sees your posts. Anything posted on the internet is only one screenshot away from being seen by potentially millions of people. You may think a private group or a private page is a safe place to share your thoughts (pleasant or unpleasant) but as soon as it's online, a post can be nearly impossible to completely remove. There's no such thing as a private space on social media. If you wouldn’t say it to your manager’s face, don’t post it on the internet.
- Protect patient private information. Part of your professional obligation as a registered nurse and health care provider is to protect a patient’s private information. A post of any kind that could potentially share a patient’s information should not be posted – if you’re unsure about your post, err on the side of caution and keep it to yourself. Sharing patient information could result in serious consequences.
- Maintain the patient-client relationship. Consider declining follow or friend requests from current or former patients. Accepting requests can harm the nurse-patient therapeutic relationship and opens your personal life up to a new scope of scrutiny.
Without question, there are ways to use social media as a registered nurse without putting your career at risk. Please be mindful of the considerations above and choose to play it safe – if you’re unsure about the content of your post, don’t post it.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact SUN Provincial at 1-306-525-1666/1-800-667-7060 or 1-306-665-2100/1-800-667-3294.
