NCM 110: INFORMATICS NURSING

MANAGEMENT

KARITSAKESIAH ARCEO,UKRN,HAAD RN/SN, RN

Course Instructor
 Online Communication
Online communication is so important to daily E-mail users should consider having several
life that when it is not easily available, people e-mail accounts, each with a different purpose.
go out of their way to become connected.
➔ For work purposes
➔ School communication
E-mail ➔ Personal communication
➔ An e-mail is a message transmitted and
received by computers through a
network.

➔ An e-mail system works by allowing

computer users on a network to send text,
graphics, sounds, and animated images to
other users.
 Online Communication
E-mail Signature Out-of-Office Replies
A signature is similar to the return address on a postal ➔ To show consideration for those sending you
letter; e-mail, set up an automatic out-of-office reply.
➔ However, avoid including personal information
such as street addresses and home phone ➔ This feature will automatically send an
numbers. out-of-office e-mail to each person who sent you
e-mail.
E-mail written by professionals should include a
signature with the: ➔ The reply should include a short note indicating
● Sender's name, that you are unable to read e-mail and the date of
● Title your return.
● Company name, and
● geographical location.
 Managing E-mail
1. Folders and labels
➔ provide a way to categorize e-mail.
1. Flags or stars
➔ used to give a visual alert for importance
and/or follow-up;
➔ after you have read the e-mail, you can click
a flag or star to indicate importance and
follow-up.
1. Colors
➔ provide a visual cue to help organize e-mail
1. Sound
➔ provides an auditory alert for the arrival of
e-mail.
➔ use sound alerts to check e-mail as it arrives
into the mailbox.
1. Filters
➔ provide rules to the software to perform
actions on e-mail
 Online Communication
SPAM E-mail Etiquette
➔ Spam is the electronic version of junk postal
➔ E-mail etiquette is essential for professional
mail.
communication.
➔ It exists because it is a cheap way to advertise.
➔ It is not only a nuisance; it is potentially harmful.
➔ The rules for creating e-mail are important:
➔ Some internet service providers will
◆ Always include a short pertinent subject
automatically designate messages that they
line.
believe are dangerous as junk or spam.
◆ When replying to e-mail, make sure to
include appropriate information from the
prior message.
◆ In general, e-mail should be short and to
the point, but not too short.
 Online Communication
E-mail Etiquette
➔ Users may use acronyms and emoticons in
informal e-mail, but they are NOT appropriate
for professional communication.
➔ Use the appropriate font, case, and colors
when writing e-mail.
➔ According to e-mail etiquette, use of all
uppercase (all caps) indicates the user is
shouting.
➔ Depending on the content of the e-mail
message, the recipient might interpret a
red-colored font as swearing.
➔ Always check your e-mail for spelling,
grammar, and punctuation before sending.
➔ Be sure that your e-mail does not violate
common decency laws.
➔ Try to respond to e-mail within 24 hours.
 Social Media and Professional Networking
Social Media
What do you think are the advantages and
disadvantages of Social Media?

➔ Social media tools allow us to communicate with

colleagues worldwide and to stay abreast of
standards of care and practice.

History has taught us through recent devastating disasters that electronic networking provides a
means for:
● organizing and delivering healthcare;
● providing volunteer assistance, pharmaceuticals, and medical supplies; and
● providing care to those in need.
 Online Communication
Social Media Professional Networking
➔ Social media allows people to share their stories, ➔ Professional networking is a subset of social
pictures, videos, and thoughts with others online media, where interactions focus on business
using the Internet themes.

Social media has four main

classifications:
➔ Networking Sites,
➔ Blogging,
➔ Microblogging, and
➔ Content Sharing.
 SOCIAL MEDIA & PROFESSIONAL NETWORKING
Networking Sites LINKEDIN
Social networking sites ➔ Is a professional networking site.
[examples] : ➔ provides a way to connect with other business
❏ Facebook professionals, share information, or look for
❏ LinkedIn new career opportunities.
❏ Research Gate ➔ Users can build professional profiles, post
resumes, and search for jobs.
➔ Academia and corporate businesses initially

➔
shunned use of social networking.
Today, many colleges, universities, and
Researchgate
➔ Is a professional networking site for
hospitals have a presence on Facebook and
researchers and scientists.
embrace the use of the social media to
➔ It allows members to share research, post
connect with groups of users on a more
published papers, and collaborate with
personal level and a sense of community.
others.
 SOCIAL MEDIA & PROFESSIONAL NETWORKING
Blogs
➔ A blog is an online discussion about thoughts or
topics of interest.
➔ Although blogs can be collaborative, more often,
one person, known as a blogger, starts them.
➔ There are many different ways to use blogs in
education and healthcare.
➔ Health blogs have varying authors, including
healthcare professionals, patients, and others
who are interested in certain topics, read widely
on the subjects, and want to share their
knowledge.
Examples:
❏ A cancer survivor and advocate for
participatory medicine and patient engagement,
who has a blog titled e-Patient Dave
❏ The nurses at Saint Joseph Hospital (Orange,
California) created a nursing research blog
where they communicate the research activities
of their staff as well as the results of group
discussions about research articles.
❏ Scoliosis blogs (http://
www.scoliosisblogs.com/), a website with
choices of many blogs about scoliosis.
 SOCIAL MEDIA & PROFESSIONAL NETWORKING
Microblogging
➔ Microblogging refers to very brief web
journaling.
➔ Very popular text-based communication tools
worldwide such as text messaging, Twitter and
chat are examples of microblogging applications.

➔ Abbreviated language works well for quick

communication of information, but it is not
appropriate for use in a professional setting, such
as school or workplace communication.
 SOCIAL MEDIA & PROFESSIONAL NETWORKING
Content Sharing
➔ Content sharing is a component of social media
and professional networking.
➔ Video sharing: YouTube
➔ Photo/Video Sharing: Instagram
PROS
● Ability to communicate and collaborate with
other nurses and healthcare professionals.
● Healthcare organizations can market services
to the public.

CONS
What are the pros & cons of using ● The cons relate to legal and ethical issues.

social media [healthcare]

Nurses and healthcare providers who
indiscriminately share stories, photos, and video
related to
practice, face serious punishments.
 SOCIAL MEDIA & PROFESSIONAL NETWORKING
➔ Nurses and healthcare providers who
indiscriminately share stories, photos, and video
related to practice face serious punishments.

➔ Penalties include dismissal from a nursing

program, termination from work as a nurse,
revoking of a nursing license by the state board
of nursing, lawsuits, fines, jail, or imprisonment
Examples:
● A nurse who took unauthorized photos of a client
What could be a potential
with his personal cell phone.
● A nursing student was expelled from the nursing
concern for this photo?
program after taking a picture of a little boy
recovering from cancer and posting it on
Facebook.
PRINCIPLES FOR SOCIAL NETWORKING
SUMMARY:

Online social networking facilitates collegial communication among registered

nurses and provides convenient and timely forums for professional development and
education.

It also presents remarkable potential for public education and health guidance,
contributing to nursing’s online professional presence. At the same time, the
inherent nature of social networking invites the sharing of personal information or
work experiences that may reflect poorly on a nurse’s professionalism.

ANA’s Principles for Social Networking and the Nurse provides guidance to
registered nurses on using social networking media in a way that protects patients’
privacy and confidentiality and maintains the standards of professional nursing
practice.
These six essential principles are relevant to all registered nurses and nursing
students across all roles and settings.
PRINCIPLES FOR SOCIAL NETWORKING
1. Nurses must not transmit or place online individually identifiable
patient information.

Nurses must know their legal and ethical responsibilities, as well as their
own organization’s policies, regarding their responsibility to protect
patient privacy, whether online or offline.

Merely removing someone’s name (or face, in the instance of images)

from a communication does not necessarily protect that person’s identity.
Under federal law (HIPAA), protected “individually identifiable
information” includes health information that identifies the individual or
can reasonably be used to identify the individual, in any form (oral,
written, or otherwise) that relates to the past, present, or future physical
or mental health of an individual.
PRINCIPLES FOR SOCIAL NETWORKING
2. Nurses who interact with patients on social media must observe
ethically prescribed patient–nurse professional boundaries. The precepts
guiding nurses in these matters are no different online than in person.

3. Nurses should evaluate all their postings with the understanding that a
patient, colleague, educational institution, or employer could potentially
view those postings. Online content and behavior has the potential to
either enhance or undermine not only the individual nurse’s career, but
also the nursing profession.
4. Nurses should take advantage of privacy settings available on many
social networking sites in their personal online activities and seek to
separate their online personal and professional sites and information. Use
of privacy settings and separation of personal and professional information
online does not guarantee, however, that information will not be repeated
in less protected forums.
PRINCIPLES FOR SOCIAL NETWORKING
5. As the patient’s advocate, nurses have an ethical obligation to take
appropriate action regarding instances of questionable healthcare delivery at an
individual or systems level that reflect incompetent, unethical, illegal, or
impaired practice.

Nurses who view social media content posted by a colleague that violates
ethical or legal standards should first bring the questionable content to the
attention of the colleague so that the individual can take appropriate action.

If the posting could threaten a patient’s health, welfare, or right to privacy

regarding health information, the nurse has the obligation to report the matter to
a supervisor or designated person within the institution or entity for follow-up.
If the questionable practice is not addressed in the employment setting and
seriously jeopardizes the patient’s safety and well-being, the nurse may need to
report the problem to external authorities. Accurate reporting and factual
documentation—not merely opinion—should always support such responsible
actions.
PRINCIPLES FOR SOCIAL NETWORKING
6. Nurses are encouraged to participate in the development of
policies and procedures in their institutions and organizations for
handling reports of online conduct that may raise legal concerns or
be professionally unethical.

Such official channels can protect the rights of those participating

and can offer remedial action for the patient, while offering fairness,
support, and nonpunitive correction and training for a nurse’s
inadvertent mistakes.
 Summary
❖ E-mail is a predominant way of everyday
communication for busy nurses.
❖ E-mail signatures and out-of-office
replies facilitate professional
communication.
❖ Use of blogs and networking sites
[Facebook, Linkedln, and ResearchGate]
provides opportunities to develop
professional collaboration with other
nurses.
❖ Microblogging sites, such as Twitter,
chat, and Tumblr, provide means for
instant communication.
❖ Unfortunately, the immediacy of
communication has blurred the lines
for social and professional
responsibility to respect and advocate
for patients.
❖ Incidents occurred where nurses and
other healthcare providers breached the
trust and confidentiality of patients
with social media.
❖ As a result, guidelines and
principles for professional use of
social media.
References:
American Nurses Association. (n.d.). ANA's Principles for Social Networking and the Nurse.
https://www.nursingworld.org/~4af4f2/globalassets/docs/ana/ethics/social-networking.pdf

Encyclopædia Britannica, inc.. Internet. Encyclopædia Britannica.

https://www.britannica.com/technology/Internet

Sewell, J. (2016). Informatics and Nursing: Opportunities and Challenges (5th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.