How (not) to use social networking

Recently I talked about a nurse who made some inappropriate posts to Facebook about this manager and the unit.  I made him look foolish and weak as a charge nurse.  This also got several other members of the team to talk because they obviously thought it was ok since a member of the leadership team was doing the same.
This got me thinking about what would be appropriate for a person to post about their work.

Obviously, never, EVER post any patient information.  This could get you in tons of trouble and possibly cause you to lose your job, and even legal issues.  I know we want to post funny things that happen at work, but do not use patient names, describe them or give any information that could identify them to others.  If for some reason I post something like that, I even try to change the sex of the patient.

When it comes to your boss or job, you may want to get online and complain when you think your boss did something unfair, or when you have a bad day at work.  But try not using their name, your hospital and/or unit name.  This will make your boss, unit and organization look bad to others.  Maybe it is just a personal thing between the two of you and your boss will get along great with somebody else.  It can also give patients an inappropriate view of the type of care they will receive or had received there at one time.

What I would suggest…..keep work at work.  The best way to keep yourself from possibly getting in trouble is to just not talk about it in a public forum.