NSHEN Conference October 23 2013 Marika D Warren PhD Objectives Identify some of the ethical issues around professional boundaries that arise when using social media Identify some of the key values relevant to addressing professional boundaries that arise with social media ID: 621695
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Slide1
Drawing Lines on the Digital Frontier: Professional Boundaries and Social Media
NSHEN Conference
October 23, 2013
Marika D. Warren, Ph.D.Slide2
Objectives
Identify some of the ethical issues around professional boundaries that arise when using social media
Identify some of the key values relevant to addressing professional boundaries that arise with social media
Discuss and analyze some cases regarding professional boundaries Slide3
Social Media – What Difference Does it Make?
Concern: Harder to maintain distinction between personal and professional identities in these spaces
Difference between various sites
LinkedIn
FacebookSlide4
Case 1: Symptoms & Superstore
You see your
neighbour
, Glenn, at Superstore. He asks you how your day was you reply, “Rough! We had a full ED all day long and one of the other nurses was sick.” He says, “That’s too bad – say, what do you think of this rash? Should I have it looked at?”
You feel a bit awkward and tell him that you aren’t sure but if he’s bothered by it he should probably get it checked out.
How (if at all) would this be different if it took place in the comments section of your blog?Slide5
Case 2: Blood & Blogs
You write blog about health promotion strategies, a passion of yours. A commenter posts his recent blood test results and asks if there’s cause for concern, mentioning that his family physician advises taking a wait-and-see approach. The levels are at the high end of normal ranges.
You think that he would be better off taking steps now to improve his overall health and so you respond, telling the poster that he should go back to his doctor and ask about diet and lifestyle modifications that might help him.Slide6
Case 3: Smoking & Social Networks
You are a pediatric oncology nurse. A patient whom you treated for five years during her teens has moved away and sent a Facebook friend request to your professional account.
You liked this patient and accept the request, since you’d like to know how things go for her.
She posts pictures in which she’s smoking, which trouble you because her condition and treatment have left her particularly vulnerable to the harms of tobacco smoke. You leave a comment on one photo, writing “Make good choices!”
In discussing this with a colleague the next day, you start to wonder if that was a professional boundary violation.Slide7
Case 4: Friends & Frustrations
You are on OT on a team of healthcare providers working in the community. One of the younger members of the team has sent you a Facebook friend request to your personal account and you’ve accepted it.
Your colleague frequently posts statuses that express general frustration about aspects of her job and unhappiness with policies and directions coming from management, although no patient information is shared and no colleagues are identified.
You feel that this might be construed as unprofessional, and decide to talk to your colleague about her behavior. She claims that she’s just blowing off steam and that it’s no different than if the two of you went out for nachos one night and she vented about work.Slide8
Key Values
Relationship
Trust
Avoiding harm
Patients
Profession
Colleagues
Organization
Confidentiality & privacy
Respect
ProfessionalismSlide9
Consensus – Social Media and Professional Boundaries
Standards from “real life” still apply
Risks and benefits to using social media
Individuals need to use critical thinking
Flexible policies needed
; blanket bans not
effective
Guidelines being developed
Attempt to guard against blurring of personal and professional identitiesSlide10
Discussion
What is it about social media that makes the blurring of personal and professional identities
more likely?