In my original Social Media and Professionalism Audits, I reflected upon my limited online presence. I shared with my cohort that I had a private Instagram account, which I later decided to disable following some eye opening and honest critiques from my peers. I immediately realized the err of my ways; in having a private Instagram account whilst still posting pertinent details of my professional identity as a nurse and Masters student at Athabasca. I understood I had inadvertently crossed a line drawn in the sand concerning a professional online presence enmeshed with a personal one. Previously, I had not considered the unintended consequences and possible professional ramifications of my Instagram posts, which may have offended or upset someone from my audience, coupled with a possible loss of job or license for me. I naively neglected to consider how my personal opinions, values, and lived experiences, all of which I shared unabashedly, could be misinterpreted by my audience, and deemed unprofessional for a Registered Nurse (RN) to share publicly. I fully admit that I was using Instagram as a soap box, to talk freely about my challenges with PPD, chronic depression, and anxiety. I considered my forthrightness to be advocatory and empowering, and trying to breaking down the stigma from mental health concerns.
Prior to disabling Instagram, I heavily weighed the fact that as an RN, I am a self-regulating professional as identified in the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 and the Nursing Act, 1991, so therefore, I am inherently held to a higher standard than a member of the general public. I also looked towards my regulatory body, the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO), and professional association, the Registered Nurses of Ontario (RNAO) to learn more about an appropriate online social media use. A peer poignantly echoed the CNO and RNAO’s stances and thus reminded me once more; that nurses are held to a higher standard by virtue of being a member od a trusted and privileged profession as an RN. I quickly understood the blaring signal, telling me to have a distinctly defined professional social media account, separate from a personal one, as the two simply cannot be combined into one.
In the past week or so that I have had to reflect on what kind of professional identity I want to have, I have decided to focus on building a personal one first. I am proud of myself for talking about difficult topics like mental health challenges and the pervasive stigma which still exists. That is a huge part of my personal online and in real life identity, and I don’t want it to diminish. I have also come to realize that my professional identity matters to me just as much as my personal one, so with that, I will return to Instagram with a new professional identity: one to speak of advocacy, transparency, due diligence in sharing factual and evidence-based information to my audience. My steadfast values of respect, integrity, dignity, autonomy, advocacy, equity, and humility will permeate my Instagram feed.
My professional identity will be founded on the central tenet of respect for the profession of nursing, for the clients & families to whom I am providing care for, to my colleagues, and for my employer. I will pay close attention to the values and mission of my professional organizations and workplace policies and procedures to ensure that I maintain the careful boundaries outlined for online social media use. My focus will remain central to mental health care and advocacy and my Instagram will be a safe place for where I hold space for whomever wishes to enter it. Additionally, thanks to this course, I now have Twitter as another social media outlet to use as part of my online social media presence.
This experience so far has been incredible, and has really forced me to take note of the way in which I presented myself on Instagram. I am fortunate to have received the constructive feedback from my peers, which allowed me to take pause and truly reflect who I am fundamentally. The social media and professionalism audits really opened my eyes and gave me a new lens in which to view myself; and I like what I see. I just need to separate the personal from the professional. Lastly, I feel so very grateful to have *met* all my peers in this course, all of whom I wish to stay in touch with long after this course and our program has concluded.
(750 words)
References
Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLii). (2017, December 31). Nursing Act, 1991.
Retrieved January 20, 2021 from https://canlii.ca/t/2t0
College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO). About the College of Nurses. (October 2, 2020). Retrieved January 21, 2021 from www.cno.org
Government of Ontario. (2018, November 16). Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991.
Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC). From
http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/pro/programs/hhrsd/about/rhpa.aspx
Government of Ontario. (2018, November 16). Regulated Health Professions. Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC). From http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/pro/programs/hhrsd/about/regulated_professions.aspx
International Nurse Regulator Collaboration. (n.d). Social Media Use: Common Expectations for Nurses. Retrieved January 20, 2021 from incr-social-media-use-common-expectations-for-nurses.pdf
Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO). (n.d.). Social Media Guidelines for Nurses. Retrieved January 20, 2021 from https://rnao.ca/news/socialmediaguideline
Tattoo by Tim Pausinger and Photo by: Tracey DaSilva
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