Wendy Sinclair, Moira McLoughlin

1. Nurse on-line, Nurse off-line:
Learning to be a digital professional
Wendy Sinclair
@wlasinclair
Moira McLoughlin
@levylass

2. “Use all forms of spoken, written and digital communication
(including social media and networking sites) responsibly.”
‘Protect your professionalism and your reputation. It is
important to consider who and what you associate with on
social media. For example, acknowledging someone else’s
post can imply that you endorse or support their point of
view. You should consider the possibility of other people
mentioning you in inappropriate posts. If you have used
social media for a number of years, it is important to
consider, in relation to the Code, what you have posted
online in the past’
NMC, 2015
The need to be professional:
online and offline

3. ‘Social media including inappropriate use of social
media related to compromising images on sites that
indicate that the person is a nursing student or a
student of the University of Salford’
‘Misuse of the internet and social networking sites’
‘aggressive or threatening behaviour, bullying or
physical violence; by word or deed including using
social media’
Fitness for practice:
Misconduct or Unsuitability

4. ...I started using Twitter in early 2012 in an attempt
to understand it better! @wlasinclair
The importance of our personal
accounts ...

5. ...finding likeminded academics on Twitter was the
start! @levylass has been on Twitter since 2009
Working together...

6. I started this account with a student rep in 2012
having chaired all staff student committees as the Student
Experience Lead for the School…I wanted a faster way of
communicating with students that closed the loop on queries
& issues raised via rep system – see blog ‘from little acorns’
https://salforduniversitynursing.wordpress.com/2014/01/25/
mighty-oaks-from-little-acorns-grow/
….But it faltered at first…and then grew and developed in a
very different way….
The importance of a nursing account
for students @nursingSUni

7. • A small team in Jan 2013 revived the nursing Twitter
account with a vision of student and academic
partnership: Co-Curation
• Role modeling and mentoring students and staff to
develop social media skills
A partnership account

8. Blogging

9. Facebook groups and
pages

10. •‘its another place to go to find out, to ask
questions, to get support’
•“you do always get a response – you never ever
get like an email waiting for days and days on end
you always get a response and usually within an
hour or so which is really helpful’
• ‘yes and sometimes (with Twitter) it’s a lecturer
from another University who follows the account’
•“I think it also helped with my personal account to
be more professional on my own account”
Student focus groups – emerging
findings through their own words

11. • Role modelling works!
• Very few problems
• Student engagement is growing
• Wider learning appears to be taking place
• Student awareness of current issues heightened
• Deeper understanding of being ‘professional’
• Student connections – across Universities not
just within
• Development opportunities & cross fertilisation
of ideas
• Creativity evident
• Students willing to report!
What have we found?