Competency
Use scholarly voice when using technology to communicate as a nurse.
Scenario
You have volunteered to share your expertise in communicating via technology by submitting an entry for the Facebook Page developed by students in your school. All nursing students have access to this page. The goal of this post is to share how to utilize a scholarly voice when using communication technology in nursing.
Instructions
- From the list below choose a communication technology you believe is most appropriate for scholarly communication in nursing:
- Text messaging
- Social network applications (i.e. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.)
- Describe in detail the type of communication technology chosen, including rationale for why this technology is most appropriate for scholarly nursing communication.
- Explain how a scholarly voice can be utilized using this type of communication technology to deliver information relevant to nursing.
- Describe how this communication technology should not be used to convey professional nursing information in a scholarly voice.
- Utilize credible sources to support your choices.
Rubric
Exemplary description of one communication technology, including a rational for why this communication technology is the most appropriate choice
Exemplary explanation of how a scholarly voice can be used in this communication technology to convey information pertinent to nursing practice
Exemplary description of communication techniques that should be avoided when using the technology mechanism selected
Sources used are credible, support the purpose of the assignment, and using APA format.
Using Technology and a Scholarly Voice in Nursing Communication
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliations
Using Technology and a Scholarly Voice in Nursing Communication
Effective communication is an integral component of healthcare delivery as it ensures the proper exchange of information among healthcare professionals as well as between healthcare providers and patients. Information and communication technologies significantly impact communication in nursing. Numerous factors influence the choice of information and communication technology. As Simonovich et al. (2021) explain, many communication technology tools are available for use by today’s healthcare professionals. Examples of such tools include emails, text messaging using mobile phones, and social networking platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. The purpose of this assignment is to explain how to utilize a scholarly voice when using social networking applications in nursing. Irrespective of the type of tool chosen, nurses must always maintain a scholarly voice when communicating via technology.
Social Networking Applications as Communication Technology
When compared to email and text messaging, social network applications such as Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter are the most appropriate for scholarly communication in nursing. Social networking platforms are internet-based tools through which communities and individuals can interact and communicate by sharing information in real-time. The information being shared can be in the form of text, images, or both (Pizzuti et al., 2020). Social media applications have unique features that allow users to perform a number of activities. For example, a healthcare organization can share information that communicates a change in standard operating procedures to its employees. The use of social media platforms in communication has increased significantly in the past decade across industries, ages, and professions. The healthcare industry, particularly the nursing profession is witnessing a sharp increase in social media usage today (Farsi, 2021). As nurses continue to use social networking applications for communication purposes, they should be adequately informed about the best practices for ensuring success.
Rationale for Appropriateness
Social network applications are the most appropriate for scholarly communication in nursing when compared to emails and text messaging. According to Rolls et al. (2017), although nurses may engage in extensive research to gather evidence to inform clinical practice, the lack of knowledge dissemination negatively affects the translation of research evidence into practice. Social media platforms allow healthcare professionals to develop virtual communities through which they can share scholarly knowledge and evidence to inform nursing practice (Rolls et al., 2017). Healthcare professionals agree that social media platforms can be used to share educational resources appropriate for health care. Pizzuti et al. (2020) conducted a survey in Georgia, Maryland, South Carolina, and Wisconsin to understand the perceptions of healthcare professionals regarding how they believed that social media applications can be used as scholarly educational resources. Their respondents included “healthcare administrators, nurses, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, physicians, and physician assistants of hospital systems and affiliated health science schools (Pizzuti et al., 2020, p. e0228372.” The participants admitted that social network applications such as Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter are effective educational tools in healthcare that allow the sharing of scholarly resources among healthcare professionals. Ideally, healthcare organizations and healthcare teams frequently use social media platforms to disseminate healthcare information and important updates about clinical practice to end users.
Maintaining a Scholarly Voice When Using Social Network Applications
It is highly imperative that users maintain a scholarly voice when using social network applications to convey information pertinent to nursing practice. This is due to the critical role that such information plays in influencing clinical practice, ensuring quality healthcare, and promoting patient safety. One of the strategies is to tailor the message in a manner that meets the needs of the target audience on the platform. It is important to ensure that no member of the community is left out and that the information being exchanged is relevant to the community (Wilson & Stock, 2021). Lu et al. (2021) emphasize the need to apply culture-building strategies that ensure that the information being posted or shared is evidence-based. Additional approaches to maintaining a scholarly voice when using social network applications to deliver information relevant to nursing include using appropriate language when presenting information, addressing members’ concerns, and heeding the rules of online engagement.
Communication Techniques That Should Be Avoided
Users should avoid some communication techniques when using social network applications to convey information pertinent to nursing practice. Certain behaviors are considered to be dangerous and thus should be avoided by members of various social media communities (Vukušić et al., 2021). Vukušić et al. (2021) conducted a study to establish the dangers and benefits of using social media by healthcare professionals. According to the researchers, healthcare professionals should avoid behaviors that compromise confidentiality, loosen accountability, depict unprofessionalism, depict blurred professional boundaries, and that may attract legal consequences. Nursing students should be educated about these behaviors early enough to prepare them to communicate effectively in the future in their profession using social network applications.
Conclusion
As the use of communication technologies continues to rise in the healthcare industry, nurses and other healthcare professionals need to understand the appropriateness of various tools including best practices to observe and dangerous behaviors to avoid when using the technology mechanisms. Evidence indicates that social network applications such as Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter are effective educational tools in healthcare that allow the sharing of scholarly resources among healthcare professionals. To ensure the effectiveness of social network applications, users must maintain professionalism and avoid using inappropriate language that might attract disciplinary and legal action.
References
Farsi, D. (2021). Social media and health care, part I: Literature review of social media use by health care providers. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 23(4), e23205. https://doi.org/10.2196/23205
Lu, D., Ruan, B., Lee, M., Yilmaz, Y., & Chan, T. M. (2021). Good practices in harnessing social media for scholarly discourse, knowledge translation, and education. Perspectives on Medical Education, 10(1), 23–32. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40037-020-00613-0.
Pizzuti, A. G., Patel, K. H., McCreary, E. K., Heil, E., Bland, C. M., Chinaeke, E., Love, B. L., & Bookstaver, P. B. (2020). Healthcare practitioners’ views of social media as an educational resource. PloS One, 15(2), e0228372. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0228372
Rolls, K., Hansen, M., Jackson, D., & Elliott, D. (2017). How health care professionals use social media to create virtual communities: An integrative review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 18(6), e166. https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.5312
Simonovich, S. D., Spurlark, R. S., Badowski, D., Krawczyk, S., Soco, C., Ponder, T. N., Rhyner, D., Waid, R., Aquino, E., Lattner, C., Wiesemann, L. M., Webber-Ritchey, K., Li, S., & Tariman, J. D. (2021). Examining effective communication in nursing practice during COVID-19: A large-scale qualitative study. International Nursing Review, 68(4), 512–523. https://doi.org/10.1111/inr.12690
Vukušić, R., T., Viskić, J., Machala Poplašen, L., Relić, D., Marelić, M., Jokic, D., & Sedak, K. (2021). Dangers and benefits of social media on e-professionalism of health care professionals: scoping review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 23(11), e25770. https://doi.org/10.2196/25770
Wilson, C., & Stock, J. (2021). ‘Social media comes with good and bad sides, doesn’t it?’ A balancing act of the benefits and risks of social media use by young adults with long-term conditions. Health (London, England: 1997), 25(5), 515–534. https://doi.org/10.1177/13634593211023130