Nursing Student: Health Informatics: Ethical Practice: "Naughty nurses" on Instagram

"Naughty nurses told to behave after posting saucy selfies on social media"

I discovered an interesting article while researching nursing students’ presence on social media that explores the controversial actions of young nurses in Australia on the website Instagram. The nurses work at the NSW hospital in Australia and posted photographs of themselves in the workplace and “selfies” while at work. They now face the possibility of termination by hospital (Silmalis, 2013).One photograph in particular shows an extreme lack of professional judgment and concern for the standards of the nursing profession on the part of the nurse. The picture consists of the nurse with a male client who seems to be under anaesthesia, and is tagged by the nurse on Instagram as “sex change”, “highasakite” and “nomorewilly” (Silmalis, 2013). The nurse clearly violated the client’s privacy and confidentiality by taking a photo of him and sharing it on social media without his consent (CNO, 2006). The nurse’s inappropriate actions reflect extremely poorly on the profession of nursing; therefore, the nurse also did not live up to the standard of accountability. In addition, the nurse’s actions did not comply with the standard of the therapeutic nurse-client relationship in regards to the aspects of maintaining trust, showing respect, and providing client-centered care (CNO, 2006).