indystar .com/nurs ing02 . 11

NursingI N D I A N A

Q U A R T E R LY

CAREERS & TRAINING:

Learning while healing

ReddKnotts

Your World Q&A:

Nurses’ new tool:

SOCIALNET•

WORK•

ING

NURSE8

NURSES’ NEW TOOL

TWITTER FACEBOOK BLOG

STATUS UPDATE TWITPIC

PODCAST YOUTUBE

SOCIAL

SHARING

TEACHING

ETWORKING

8 Indiana Nursing Quarterly • indystar.com/nursing • Winter 2011

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Patients at the St. Vincent Bariatric Center of Excellence blog about their weight-loss experiences, and physicians at the St. Vincent Heart Center of Indiana create videos on cardiovascular health.

For women’s health alone, the hospital system has a heavily promoted “Health Tips 4 Her” blog, podcast series, Facebook page, Twitter account and online “ask us a question” feature.

Nurse practitioner Julie Schnieders, MSN, (pictured at left) is the face of the women’s health project. Schnieders and the marketing team are building a social media presence. Since last February, her blog (www.3384her.com) has attracted more than 60,000 readers.

“As a nurse, I never thought this would be anything I would ever do,” said Schnieders, who spent more than 15 years in private practice. “This was all totally new.”

Social media tools, including blogs, podcasts and websites like Facebook and Twitter, are making it easier for health care organizations to connect with patients and the community. For nurses, this creates opportunities for job placement, professional development, networking and — like Schnieders — new job descriptions.

Social media as career coach | One key opportunity for nurses: Social media has streamlined the job-search process, making it easier to find listings and research employers. The American Nurses Association’s Facebook page — which has nearly 30,000 fans — includes a career center and other resources for job seekers. Likewise, many individual health care organizations are creating specific social media tools for the same purpose.

Wishard Health Services, for example, hired 110 nurses last year. Its Facebook recruiting page — Careers at Wishard Health Services — has about 35 job opportunities listed, along with videos and event information. In its first year, the page attracted 1,000 fans and reached half a million impressions.

Among its features, the website allows job hunters to ask questions of hospital officials, patients and other employees who visit the site.

St. Vincent Health has

17 Facebook pages, five

Twitter accounts, a YouTube

channel and countless blogs that collectively

address a range of health issues.

By Ashley Petry Cover Story

Continued on Page 10

Julie Schnieders’ 3384her.com site features a popular blog, podcast series, Facebook page and Twitter account.

MARC LEBRYK / Custom Publications

ETWORKING

Indiana Nursing Quarterly • indystar.com/nursing • Winter 2011 9

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“Our initial goal was to try to reach a different demographic and diversify our applicant pool,” said Tricia Dierks, BSN, manager of recruitment and employment. “I think the applicants who come our way already have positive

information to bring to a job interview.”

Social media as support group| Once nurses land a job, social media tools provide unprecedented opportunities for professional development and networking. They also make it easier for on-the-go nurses to keep up with industry trends and discuss common issues.

On Twitter, nurses can post comments with a special hashtag — #RNchat — to connect with their peers. On the allnurses.com Facebook page, nearly 10,000 people join discussions about all things nursing, from the stress of working long shifts to the latest developments in computer charting. The American Journal of Nursing has a Facebook page, Twitter feed, blog, YouTube videos, podcasts and e-newsletter. Blog topics have included “pain assessment in people with intellectual or developmental

disabilities” and “bullying among nurses.”

“It’s another way of networking and connecting with your peers in different geographic locations by finding people who have shared interests,” said Ed Bennett, director of Web strategy at the University of Maryland Medical Center, which maintains a blog about social media in the health care industry.

Social media as community builder | Perhaps the most valuable benefit of social media is its ability to connect nurses and other health care professionals with patients. According to Brian Geyser, APRN-BC, MSN, chief social media strategist for CareNetworks, the ability to glean insight is unprecedented.

“For health care companies, social technologies allow them to engage in a dialogue with consumers like never before,” he said. “Organizations can learn what’s on consumers’ minds and adjust their product and service offerings accordingly.”

Geyser saw a significant increase in 2010 in the number of health care organizations using social media, despite lingering concerns about HIPAA and other privacy issues.

“In my experience, nurses in general tend to shy away from social media because they fear the confidentiality and privacy issues,” he said. “That said, nurses who do engage in the social mediasphere often act as experts in a particular subject and may share their knowledge in forums, on YouTube or on blogs. I think there is incredible potential for nurses to make an impact on the social web, just as they do in the physical world.”

Bennett, whose blog tracks 10 Indiana hospitals that use social media, also has observed a significant increase in online conversations related to health care. He sees health care professionals becoming integral in pointing people to accurate information.

“As hospitals get less afraid of social media and less fearful that the world is going to come crashing down if they post something, they’re going to find a growing role for health care professionals in the curating of content,” Bennett said.

Sites to get you startedWhether you’re a social media newbie or a tweeting/blogging/podcasting veteran, check out these websites to gain fresh insight into the ways health care professionals are reaching patients.

Continued from Page 9

Children’s Hospital Boston www.childrenshospital.orgThis one is the gold standard of social media in the health care industry. It has nearly half a million Facebook fans and uses every social media tool available.

Geyser

Bennett

Dierks

Once nurses land a job, social media tools provide unprecedented opportunities for professional development and networking.

Mayo Clinic http://socialmedia.mayoclinic.orgThe Mayo Clinic has been using social media since 2005 and has more than 100,000 followers on Twitter. Its new Center for Social Media communicates the hospital’s hard-won expertise with other organizations.

Found in Cachehttp://ebennett.orgSocial media guru Ed Bennett maintains this site, which tracks the online efforts of nearly 900 hospitals worldwide. It provides links to 701 Facebook pages, 662 Twitter accounts and 431 LinkedIn accounts, plus blogs and YouTube channels. If you want an overview of what your peers are doing, this is the place to go.

10 Indiana Nursing Quarterly • indystar.com/nursing • Winter 2011

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For nurses, that means countless opportunities to connect with patients — and Schnieders is experiencing that impact firsthand. In the past year, she has answered more than 500 questions from patients through her blog’s “ask us a question” feature.

She said patient questions run the gamut and come from men, women and teens. Many ask about topics they feel uncomfortable discussing in face-to-face appointments, such as panic attacks and bladder control. Once, Schnieders suspected a case of appendicitis and called the patient right away to recommend immediate medical care.

“It’s one of those things where we can really relate to people,” she said. “That’s how people are communicating. Health care is changing and getting more expensive, so maybe simple questions could be answered this way.”

But Schnieders emphasized that nothing can replace the human touch.

“I would never say that this should replace your relationship with your physician,” she said. “No way.” ● Julie Schnieders, MSN, is helping St. Vincent Health build its online presence.

Once nurses land a job, social media tools provide unprecedented opportunities for professional development and networking.

Indiana Nursing Quarterly • indystar.com/nursing • Winter 2011 11

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Cover Story

And it’s no wonder: Launching a Facebook page or Twitter account is free and takes just a few minutes. But it’s not quite that easy to do social media right.

Before using these new tools, health care professionals must address specific issues: What’s the best way to connect with consumers? How do these efforts create value for the organization? And, perhaps most important, what policies and procedures should be in place to avoid violating HIPAA and other patient-privacy regulations?

The prospect might seem daunting, but the payoff is worth it — especially by connecting with patients one-on-one. Here, industry experts share their tips for getting started.

When using social media for professional networking:■ DO use career-related sites

like LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) and Smaller Indiana (www.smallerindiana.com) to network with your peers, including your co-workers and other nurses from around the globe.

■ DON’T ignore the networking possibilities of more casual sites like Facebook (www.facebook.com). Your third cousin or best friend from elementary school could be the one to refer you to your next job.

■ DO assume that everything is public, including the photos you post on Facebook and the comments you make on Twitter. “Just use common sense,” said Ed Bennett, a social media expert. “Don’t say anything in these spaces that you wouldn’t want your boss to see.”

When using social media to connect with patients:■ DON’T worry too much about patient-

privacy issues. Just reinforce the standards you’re already following. “There’s nothing new and different about patient confidentiality that’s different from using a fax machine, talking on the telephone or talking

in the elevator,” Bennett said. “Just remember that the rules we’ve had in place for decades apply to social media, too.” A basic policy should establish expectations for employees’ use of social media both on and off company time and define the consequences for policy violations.

■ DO create a conversation. Online chats, Facebook discussion threads and

other tools help patients connect with one another and become

word-of-mouth advocates for your organization. Brian Geyser, APRN-

BC, MSN, a social media strategist, believes health care companies that only disseminate information are missing the point.

“It’s dialogue and sharing that really make social media

powerful,” he said.

■ DO create guidelines for the public that will foster positive conversation. The Mayo Clinic’s participation guidelines call for “a basic level of civility — disagreements are fine, but mutual respect is a must, and profanity [and] abusive language are out of bounds.”

■ DO have a system in place for managing inappropriate comments and complaints about your organization.

■ DO remind patients that your site is a public forum. As the Mayo Clinic’s guidelines suggest, “Please remember that when you post a comment to a blog, it is published for the world to see.”

■ DON’T create a social media outlet and then ignore it. Keep the material fresh and give people a reason to come back. “Getting into social media is not a one-time thing,” Geyser said.

■ DON’T rush it. Establishing a mature and meaningful online presence takes time.

■ DON’T ignore opportunities. “The most important thing a company can do is realize that social media is here to stay and to begin getting involved,” Geyser said. ●

— Ashley Petry

Social media do’s and don’tsAcross the globe, health care organizations are jumping on the social media bandwagon, developing an array of tools to connect with internal and external audiences.

CareNetworkshttp://carenetworks.com/blogThis site specializes in social media strategy for long-term care and home-care providers and features a popular blog. Recent topics have included “social media and HIPAA: what you need to know” and “seven best social media tools for senior living and long-term care.”

American Journal of Nursing http://journals.lww.com/ajnonlineThis site connects with readers through a wide range of social media, including podcasts and YouTube videos. It offers an easy way to stay on top of industry developments.

12 Indiana Nursing Quarterly • indystar.com/nursing • Winter 2011

More sites to get you started