Social Technologies in the Workplace

As a nurse manager, it is imperative to understand how social technologies can impact productivity, peer-to-peer relationships, and patient safety within the workplace. Collaborating with HR to understand policies and the organization’s expectations related to the use of social technologies allows nurse managers to more effectively and appropriately integrate today’s social platforms while mitigating the occurrence of inappropriate behaviors.

For this week’s Discussion, your Instructor will assign you to one of the scenarios below. You will then use that scenario to investigate the social, ethical, and legal ramifications of social technologies.

Scenario One: You have recently been promoted to charge nurse for the day shift in your department. As a result of this promotion, your former peers are now reporting directly to you. You have been working in your setting for five years and consider many of these peers to be your friends. The way that one of your friends posts on social media sites has always bothered you. Many times, her comments are inappropriate, discussing her negative feelings about “ignorant superiors” and “annoying patients.” You also know that she frequently accesses these sites for extended periods of time while patients are waiting to be helped. Now that she reports directly to you, how do you address this? If your workplace does not have a formal policy on social media use, how can you adapt her behaviors to align with the expectations of nursing professionalism?

Scenario Two: It has been a little over a year since you accepted your nurse management position at a local pediatrics office. Since then, you have observed that many nurses seem uneasy when they work with one of your top physicians. You wonder why so many nurses are hesitant to work with such an experienced physician, particularly since most of your families rave about her dedication and caring nature toward their children. One day, while taking careful observation of your staff, you watch a nurse take out a patient chart and begin to text. The nurse becomes visibly upset as she sees you approach. When you question her about her behavior, she confides that the physician asks all nurses to text patient test results to her. The nurse admits that she feels uncomfortable sending private information via text message and only did so after multiple requests and increasing pressure from the physician. According to ethical and legal guidelines, who is at fault for this error in judgment? Since the nurse is the employee who sent the information, should action be taken against her, against the physician, or against both parties?

Scenario Three: A physician in your setting is an avid user of social media. On many of his personal pages, which include blogs about his various outdoor hobbies, he plasters pictures of himself and his friends out drinking. He also tends to post extreme comments about politics and the economy. Many in your setting joke with him about the intensity of his social life, to which he always comments, “Work hard, play hard.” Though his actions are not hurting the morale of the setting, and his posts are always before or after work hours, should anything be said to this physician? In the future, could your setting experience any ramifications because of his presence in social media?

Scenario Four: The environment in your critical care unit has always been somewhat hectic. However, over the last few months, the morale in your unit has noticeably deteriorated. You learn that nurses have begun to share mass e-mail chains complaining about unfair scheduling treatment. As the nurse manager, you have always tried your best to schedule staff fairly and even allow them to switch their shifts when personal problems arise. Since your effort to talk with staff individually does not seem to be working, you decide to hold a town hall meeting to openly discuss these issues. As you prepare the meeting announcement, you notice e-mails from your hospital administrator, chief operating officer and director of human resources. All are wondering why their inboxes have been inundated with e-mails from upset nurses in your unit. How do you respond to these e-mails? Furthermore, how should you address this situation to improve the morale of your unit?

To prepare

Review this week’s Learning Resources, focusing on the appropriate and inappropriate use of social technologies in the workplace.

Conduct further research on the social, ethical, and legal issues that result from inappropriate use of social technologies both inside and outside work hours.

For example, what laws protect the privacy and free speech of employees? How can workplaces legally safeguard themselves from various social technology issues such as defamation, misrepresentation, or misuse by individual employees? Of what legal ramifications, such as patient privacy and confidentiality laws, should managers be aware?

Reflect on the scenario to which you have been assigned.

How might employee use of social technologies impact the rest of the setting? How might it impact the care given to patients?

As the nursing manager who oversees the employee(s), what strategies (if any) would you employ to effectively address this situation?

Consider the social technology policies of your past or present workplace.

With regard to employee use of social media, do you believe the workplace policy is effective? Why or why not? As a nurse manager, could you use this policy to effectively address the behaviors in your assigned scenario?

Note: Before you submit your initial post, replace the subject line (“Week 11 Discussion”) with “Review of Case Study _” identifying the number of the case study you were assigned.

Post an explanation of the possible social, ethical, and/or legal ramifications of your assigned scenario. Explain the policy your current or past workplace has on the use of social technologies and how effective you believe the policy is. If your workplace does not have a policy, explain what the accepted practices or expectations are for your setting. Has lack of policy led to any problems? Support your responses by referencing authentic examples from the workplace and this week’s Learning Resources as appropriate.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.

Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days using one or more of the following approaches:

Ask a probing question, substantiated with additional background information, evidence, or research.

Share an insight from having read a colleague’s posting, synthesizing the information to provide new perspectives.

Validate an idea with your own experience and additional research.

Required Readings

Manion, J. (2011). From management to leadership: Strategies for transforming health care (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Chapter 7, “Coaching and Developing Others” (pp. 339–341)

Review the scripting model on these pages. In this chapter, Manion discusses motivation and explains how leaders can make the most of it through coaching. She explains the leader’s role, the coaching role, and the difference between coaching and being a coach.

Alichnie, C. (2012). Social media and nursing. Pennsylvania Nurse, 67(1), 3–10.

Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

This article discusses the use of social media in nursing. The author determines that social media can be a means to an end if it’s used wisely, professionally, and within legal and ethical boundaries.

Barrett, A., Piatek, C., Korber, S., & Padula, C. (2009). Lessons learned from a lateral violence and team-building intervention. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 33(4), 342–351.

Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

This study focuses on nurse interaction in relation to lateral violence. The authors conclude that the key to a cohesive work environment is a nurse leader who is able to drive and sustain change.

Barton, S. A., Alamri, M. S., Cella, D., Cherry, K. L., Curll, K., Hallman, B. D., et al. (2011). Dissolving clique behavior. Nursing Management, 42(8), 32–37.

Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

This article addresses clique behavior in health care settings. The argument is that the current economic climate encourages regression in health care workers.

Brinkert, R. (2010). A literature review of conflict communication causes, costs, benefits and interventions in nursing. Journal of Nursing Management, 18(2), 145–156.

Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

The author assesses the effects of conflict communication on nursing. The study concludes that conflict will always be a part of nursing but that it can be mitigated if nurse managers use employee-effective intervention methods.

Cronquist, R., & Spector, N. (2011). Nurses and social media: Regulatory concerns and guidelines. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 2(3), 37–40.

Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Cronquist and Spector’s article provides nurses with social media guidelines. They also give the reader examples of what happens when social media is used outside of professional, legal, and ethical boundaries.

Greenlund, L. (2011). ED violence: Occupational hazard? Nursing Management, 42(7), 28–32.

Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

This article analyzes the effects of workplace violence on hospitals’ productivity. Because workplace violence can be costly, the author provides prevention methods.

Hader, R. (2009). Tweeting—not just for the birds. Nursing Management, 40(12), 6.

Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

This article focuses on what nurse leaders should do about social media in the workplace. New leadership challenges have risen because of this form of communication. Nurse leaders need to ensure that their employees are not violating a patient’s rights to privacy.

Issues & answers. Social media: Implications for nursing: Nursing Practice Statement NP 85. (2011). Ohio Nurses Review, 86(2), 6–7.

Retrieved from the Walden Library databases

This article informs the reader about the laws and rules that apply to nursing and social media. The authors take a stance on the use of social media and list its benefits and drawbacks.

Kuhns, K. A. (2012). Social media and professional nursing: Friend or foe? Pennsylvania Nurse, 67(1), 4–8.

Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Kuhn’s article introduces the reader to the many different types of social media and argues that there is more to social media than Facebook and Twitter. The article then goes on to discuss the pros and cons of the use of social media in the workplace.

Macleod, L. (2011). Avoiding “group think”: A manage’s challenge. Nursing Management, 42(10), 44–48.

Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Macleod’s article focuses on the increasing costs of health care. He says that changes need to happen both within and outside of health care settings for this change to be sustainable.

Robinson, M.-A. (2012). Closing perspectives: Navigating the world of social media. Alberta RN, 67(6), 42.

Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Robinson’s article addresses the hesitation that many organizations have with social networking. While there are professional benefits, there are also risks and new challenges.