2. How did this course come about?
Started in new role officially in May 14
Started providing training to department Oct 13
Reports by staff of students using social media
inappropriately
Need to clarify with students the “ethics” of patient
confidentiality in social media
Clarification of “what is a breach” of confidentiality
Currently social media is not covered in any systematic
way by the department
3. Course has been run twice
First year Midwives age range 18-26
HDip in Midwifery age range 22-40
Very different responses
4. Aim of course
Highlight the need for awareness of students behaviour
online
Professional implications of posting comments and images
Fallibility of “private conversations”
Patient safety and privacy
Personal safety
Backed up with real life examples
5. Guidelines for professional
online behaviour
Privacy - Keep your personal and professional
life separate. Check your privacy settings and respect
privacy of others. Have two accounts
Person-free; patient-free; patient confidentiality
Protect yourself
Images - Protect your professionalism, your
reputation and yourself.
6. The patient and you
Never accept a request to “friend” a patient
Having a so-called dual relationship with a patient — that is, a
financial, social or professional relationship in addition to the
therapeutic relationship — can lead to serious ethical issues
and potentially impair professional judgment.
You need professional boundaries
to do your job well.
7. Patient Confidentiality
Although individual pieces of information may not breach
confidentiality on their own, the sum of published
information online could be enough to identify a patient or
someone close to them.
8. Privacy & medical data
• Online privacy means the ability to control patient/client data
with dignity and autonomy of the user.
• Patient privacy breaches online due to the reach of social
media and the permanency of digital information to cause
greater harm
• Never discuss patients in any social media
• Keep under review your privacy settings for each of your social
media profiles.
• But be aware that this cannot guarantee confidentiality whatever
privacy settings are in place.
9. Images
If you post images of yourself and others on Flickr, Facebook,
Instagram - they are “on the record” and are part of your
digital imprint
Consider what lasting image you want to have professionally
separate personal and professional accounts it is easier to
manage this image
Never post images from your work place without express prior
permission
Never post image of patients
10. Examples of a breach in
confidentiality
As a licensed practical nurse for more than 20 years,
Bob knew the importance of safeguarding a patient’s
privacy and confidentiality.
One day, he used his personal cell phone to take
photos of Claire, a resident in the group home where
he worked. Bob received permission from Claire’s
brother to take the photo since she was unable to
give consent due to her mental and physical
condition.
That evening, Bob ran into William, a former
employee of the group home. While catching up, he
showed William the photo of Claire and discussed
her condition with him. The administrator of the
group home later learned of Bob’s actions and
terminated his employment for breach of
confidentiality.
Emily, a 20-year-old junior nursing student, wasn’t
aware of the potential repercussions that could
occur when she took a photo of Tommy, a 3-year-old
leukemia patient in a pediatric unit, on her personal
cell phone.
When Tommy’s mom went to the cafeteria, Emily
asked him if she could take his picture, which Tommy
immediately consented to. Emily took his picture as
she wheeled him into his room. She posted Tommy’s
photo on her Facebook page with this caption: “This
is my 3-year-old leukemia patient who is bravely
receiving chemotherapy! He is the reason I am so
proud to be a nurse!”
In the photo, Room 324 of the pediatric unit was
visible. Days later, the dean of the nursing program
called Emily into her office.
A nurse from the hospital found the photo Emily
posted of Tommy on Facebook and reported it to
hospital officials who also contacted Emily’s nursing
program.
12. Cyberbullying
Lewis identifies the following bullying
acts in UK nursing:
undermining of work continual criticism
disadvantaging the target demeaning
verbal abuse destroying confidence
isolating individuals fabricating complaints
Setting up to fail
Cyberbullying is the use of Information Technology to harm or harass other
people in a deliberate, repeated, and hostile manner. All of the above traditional
forms of bullying can occur in a virtual environment
13. Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying can be as simple as continuing to send e-mails
or text messages harassing someone who has said they want
no further contact with the sender.
It may also include public actions such as
repeated threats
sexual remarks
pejorative labels (i.e., hate speech)
defamation (false accusations)
14. Geotagging
Geotagging is adding geo-location metadata to an image
or social media post e.g. Instagram and foursquare
Your photos can tell everyone who’s watching them
where you live
where you spend your time
when there is no-one home
where you park your car
and other information
you are making yourself vulnerable
15. The digital you and the future
Recruiters are increasingly screening potential employees
online.
Employer surveys have found that between one-fifth and two-
thirds of employers conduct internet searches, including of
social networking sites, and that some have turned down
applicants as a result of their searches
16. Real life examples
an employer who turned down an applicant after discovering
that he had used Facebook to criticise previous employers and
disclosed company information
a doctor who missed out on a job because the doctor’s online
activities revealed an interest in witchcraft
and a female psychiatrist who failed to gain employment after
a recruiting agency found explicit pictures on MySpace of her
intoxicated
17.
18.
19. Follow up
Sessions are then followed up with a 10 minute forum
where students are encouraged to share their own
experiences of social media
If time allows they are given a specific situation where
they can discuss how they would / should react
20. Different experiences
Undergrads HDips
All of this group used facebook
and or twitter
Lack of awareness about how
images can be taken out of
context
Many have no privacy settings in
place for their posts
Belief that if a patient name
wasn’t used it was ok to discuss
the situation
Geotagging – many didn’t realise
the safety issues associated with
posting their location
Approx 25% of class did not use
social media tools like facebook
or instagram or twitter
Lack of belief by some students
that recruiters would bother to
look on social media
Facebook and Instagram were
used for family and had not
considered its use as a
professional tool
21. Questions asked
Can I delete myself from facebook and twitter and start
again?
How can I protect my children with facebook
How can I change my privacy settings
With geotagging – how can I still post to my friends
without this information
Where is a safe place to talk about patient situations for
study purposes?
How can I use linked in to search for jobs?
22. Successes
The class was offered for the first time this year in February it
has now been adopted into 4 other modules for the 2015
intake
Two courses in the School of Nursing and two in Midwifery.
The presentation is now embedded into first year introductory
modules
This new class has allowed me to meet members of staff
offering something “new” in my new role
The informal section of the class encouraged group sharing
Staff in the department have contacted me asking for advice
on profile creation in LinkedIn
Editor's Notes
Posting images – you can take down links to your photos certainly but they cannot actually be removed from these social media websites in many cases. You can also lose permission of use unless you mange your privacy settings
Geotagging – your location can reveal more about you than you think your home is empty – you are working in isolation lat at night – your are skipping work / lectures
