The Digital Professional Image of Nurses

By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, FAAN

This past week, I had an opportunity to do a TV satellite broadcast for the Voluntary Hospital Association. The topic was on Professional Boundaries and Practice in a Facebook Age. There were excellent questions posted by the nationwide audience of nurse leaders. This topic is obviously a hot leadership issue and because it is such a new phenomena – there is ambiguity. According to a 2013 survey, only 50% of hospitals nationwide have a social media policy to guide their leaders. One very interesting challenge that we discussed involved educating staff about the need to have a professional digital image in cyberspace.

Consider this case scenario

You are a manager on a unit with many new graduates. You are active on Facebook and have friended any members of your staff that have asked. This past Saturday, you notice that a number of your new graduates have a picture posted on their Facebook site featuring Friday’s “Nurses Night Out at the Dirty Martini”. The picture has them toasting each other with what appear to be many empty martini glasses on the table. You are concerned about the picture and wonder how to best manage the situation.

Managing this situation

It is likely that the young nurses in this situation believe that what they do in their off-duty hours is their business and has no impact on their professional life. As their manager, this is challenging scenario because it
involves a gray zone that many young nurses don’t understand. The digital image of nurses does matter. When you become a professional, your personal behavior standards become part of professional demeanor and are examined through the lens of whether the behavior is congruent with that of a professional. The problem here is that many people potentially have access to this picture and it creates a very unprofessional image of staff. Potential patients could see this and wonder if these nurses are sober while on duty. If there ever is a question about professional behavior – this type of evidence could become admissible. In their tips on social networking, the ANA reminds nurses that the standards of professionalism are the same online as they are in other situations.

An illusion of privacy in social media

Unfortunately, many staff believe that if they post images or comments on a private social media site that they will remain private. Your digital image could be forwarded by others who have access to your site. Taking it down does not necessarily mean that it is inaccessible. Information on the internet has a digital footprint that could be accessed in the future. As part of the terms of agreement of social media sites – it is made clear that privacy is not guaranteed.

Future employers will check your digital image

In a 2012 Career Builder study, 37% of employers did social media checks to assess the digital image of prospective employees. This is likely to increase over time and should be pointed out to nurses when discussing their professional digital image.

As leaders, we need to embrace the new normal that has come with communication via social networking. We also need to recognize that ambiguity often accompanies any major shift in technology. We should encourage the use of social media but at the same time because there are considerable professional benefits. But at the same time, this new rapid exchange of knowledge and information also brings risks that can be potentially damaging to our professional image. The importance of a professional digital image does need to be discussed with staff.

Read to Lead

National Council of State Boards of Nursing (August 2011). A Nurses Guide to the Use of Social Media

Sherman, R.O. & Blum, C. (2010). Maintaining professional boundaries in a Facebook age. Nurses First. 3(5), 6-8.