Application of Technology in Nursing and Patient Education

"Social media is more than an emerging technology platform or cultural trend, but a method of communication that is changing the way individuals and organizations throughout the world transmit and receive information"(Schmitt, Sims-Gidden, Booth, 2012)

Current trends in healthcare education and specifically Nursing Education involve movement towards less content laden curriculum with increased focus on student thinking to more effectively facilitate self-directed learning.  Instead of passive pedagogy with the teacher being the sole distributor of knowledge more salient learning in achieved when the learner is engaged in real world experiences. Ebner, Lienhart, Rohs and Meyer (2010) discussed this style of education being well suited for the open spontaneous environment of Web 2.0 and blogs, fostering a student’s own learning process with the sharing of student’s opinions, insights and possibly preference for different styles of learning. Blogging can allow continuous and transparent communication between students and lecturers and lead to process-oriented learning with application of and reflection on different learning activities. 

Why Blog?

A Weblog, now abbreviated as “Blogs” describes a website with frequently updated postings that are listed from most recent to less recent on subject matter created mostly by one author but responded to by as many individuals as the author invites. Communication through the forum of Web 2.0, blogs can be an exciting contemporary form of collaboration enhancing nursing education. Driven by user-generated content the use of social media in the form of blogs, Tweets, and Facebook posts has increased exponentially in the last 10 years(Ebner, Lienhardt, Rohs, & Meyer, 2010). Three core competencies of BSN and MSN nursing education regarding computer literacy, information literacy and informatics can begin with use of social media and professional communication. A contemporary and convenient start would be Blogging, Twitter®, Facebook®, and LinkedIn®(Schmitt, Sims-Giddens,and Booth (2012).

Advantages of Social Media and Blogs:

       Web 2.0 and blogs are convenient, easily accessible and free forums for communication. 
     Use of blogs and mobile web sites increases the connection and communication between individuals of like-interests.

·       Blog sites promote informal learning by the expansion of teaching and learning beyond the classroom.

·       Blogs support collaboration independent of time and place, and can be invaluable as a reflective practice within the profession of nursing (Spector & Kappel, 2012).

·       The social media provides a forum for networking and feedback on thoughts from peers.

·       Blogs can allow for immediate and direct feedback from instructors to direct the focus of learning and correct misconceptions

·       When accessed, blogs give instructors insight on current thinking and status of individual student learning.

·       The social media sites can help instructors stay current on the present learning climate (Ebner etal, 2010).

Disadvantages of Social Media:

     Communication can be arbitrary with no guarantee that a post will be read by the intended audience. Posts can also be read by unintended participants making privacy as issue. (Ebner,Lienhardt, Rohs, and Meyer, 2010). 

      The Web and technology is in a constant state of change, forever evolving with the social climate.  An example is the recent changes in Facebook algorithm with favoritism place on “high quality articles” as an attempt to keep fans returning yet resulted in a subsequent drop in interest from targeted audiences. (Kramer,2014)

     Nursing programs may lag behind in providing leading edge technological training to meet students IT needs to meet current recommended competencies with informatics.

·      Barriers exist that can dampen enthusiasm to incorporate social media tools including fear of making mistakes, time restraints with multiple demands and outside distractions and restrictive academic and professional organizational policies (Schmitt, Sims-Gaddens, Booth, 2012).

·       Professionally, social media networking is not discouraged. In fact Facebook is now a forum used by  the American Nurses' Association, the Institute of Medicine, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and many other professional nursing sites. Students nurses need guidance to ensure care is taken to not overstep privacy and confidentiality. Nurses are held accountable to safeguard patients’ rights to privacy and maintain confidentiality of all patient information (ANA,2011)
     The American Nurses Association has a toolkit and fact sheet with suggestions for safe navigation of social media for nurses. Twitter feeds are posted on the ANA site offering up-to- date information on issues related to nursing and there is a social media site, ANANurseSpace that is a forum for discussion, support and information on hot-topics in nursing and healthcare.

·       Patients’ expect nurses to act in their best interests. Our Nursing Code of ethics demands that we are accountable for our actions and continue to act under a code of conduct that “is grounded on moral principles of fidelity, and respect for the dignity, worth and self-determination of patients” (ANA,2011). Careless actions can be costly to the patient and to the nurse dependent on nursing organization and state board of nursing regulations. Surprisingly many organizations do not have clearly developed social media policies. Knowing your state nursing regulations regarding privacy as well as current HIPPAA applications within the workplace can avoid embarrassment or employment consequences. The following video offered by P. Baumann(2011) regarding the lack of clear cut social media policies offers comic relief and food for thought.

Resources are offered through several professional organizations for students and faculty to increase expertise with the integration of technology into nursing curriculum. The Pew Research Center, The Sloan Consortium, The Tiger Initiative Collaborative Team, the National Nursing Students Association and The American Nurse Practitioner Foundation are just a few sources of innovative ideas for technology applications, education strategies for effective communication, guidelines for coaching students on privacy settings and social media projects. Faculty need to be given time and fair compensation to incorporate and investigate systematic approaches and theoretical frameworks for integration of technology into nursing curriculum (Schmitt, Sims-Gaddens, Booth, 2012).
Blogging is fun, engaging and full of fascinating links and people to meet. Like many new skills, it takes practice, ingenuity, creativity and networking with tech-savvy friends and mentors to navigate the intricacies of the Web 2.0. A bit of bravery and a huge dose of patience for the frustrations with the learning curve might just be what the nurse educator needs.

"Social media has become one with the fabric of society and while it may undergo constant evolution over its lifespan, it will remain part of the world in which we live for the foreseeable future" (Spector & Kappel,2012).

References:

American Nurses Association. (2011). Social networking principles toolkit. Retrieved from www.nursingworld.org/socialnetworkingtoolkit

Baumann, P. (2011). LOL – Hospital social media and lack of social media policy. Health Is Social. Retrieved from http://healthissocial.com/healthcare-social-media/hospital-social-media-policy/

Ebner, M., Lienhardt, C., Rohs, M., & Meyer, I. (2010). Microblogs in higher education – A chance to facilitate informal and process-oriented learning? Computers & Education, 55(1), 92-100. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2009.12.006

Kramer,S.(2012). Mobile devices: changing healthcare forever, V3 Integrated Marketing accessed on January 8, 2014 from http://www.v3im.com/2012/06/mobile-devices-changing-healthcare-forever/#axzz2prkqzHvi

Kramer,S. (2014) Facebook brand reach dwindling: What to do now, V3 Integrated Marketing Blogspot accessed on January 12, 2014 from http://www.v3im.com/2014/01/facebook-brand-reach-dwindling-what-to-do-now/#axzz2qF0Nf8MD

National Student Nurses’ Association (2011) Recommendations for: Social Media usage and maintaining privacy, confidentiality and professionalism, National Student Nurses’ Association, INC. accessed on January 12, 2014 from http://www.nsna.org/Resources.aspx

Schmitt,T., Sims-Giddens, S., and Booth, R.(2012) Social Media Use in Nursing Education, OJIN: Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. 17(3), Manuscript 2.doi: 10.3912/OJIN.Vol17No03Man02

Spector, N. and Kappel, D.(2012) Guidelines for using electronic and social media: the regulatory perspective, OJIN: Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 17(3), manuscript 1.Doi: 10.3912/OJIN.Vol17No03Man01

      Vogt, N. (2013) Like the rest of the news industry, campus papers reach for new strategies, Pews Research.Org/Fact tank accessed on January 12, 2014 from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/12/09/like-rest-of-the-news-industry-campus-papers-reach-for-new-strategies/