Sylvia,
I completely agree with you that we
as current/future NPs need to listen to our patients and advocate for them. You
mentioned using social media as a way for providers to support their patients. However,
before you begin interacting with patients via social media, I would encourage
you to first read a document recently released by the Federation of State
Medical Boards titled: Model Policy Guidelines for the Appropriate Use of
Social Media and Social Networking in Medical Practice (http://www.fsmb.org/pdf/pub-social-media-guidelines.pdf).
There are a multitude of various issues to consider from legal and ethical
standpoints and providers have had their licenses suspended and even revoked
for things that took place on social media. Although this guideline basically
discourages the use of social media in medical practice, there is an
interesting editorial on the American Academy of Family Physician’s website in
which one provider discusses her careful use of social media within her
practice (http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/opinion/20120629editbrull.html).
Although we have come leaps and bounds in terms of technology and our patients
may often express a desire to communicate with us via various social media
outlets, it is our professional responsibility to take appropriate precautions
to protect both ourselves and our patients.
Becky
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