APHON releases position paper on use of social media in workplace

APHON, the Association of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses, has released a position paper on the use of social media in the workplace, providing guidelines to nurses working with pediatric patients in the hematology and oncology arenas. The policy is one of the first-ever for nurses working with child patient communities and their families.

Designed by APHON's members Terri L Boyce, MSN RN CPNP-AC CPHON,® Megan M. Davis, MSN RN CPNP CPHON,® Cheryl Gerdy, MSN RN CPON,® and Anita Pool, RN CPN, and ratified by the APHON board of directors on April 9, 2011, the new policy provides guiding principles for nurses interacting with patients via CaringBridge, Facebook, UTube, Twitter and other social media communities.

"Given the widespread availability of both patient and health care provider's personal information on the internet and the increased use of social media, smart phones and social networking across all age sectors, we felt it was imperative to provide ethical guidelines for our members, as well as nurses in the profession," said APHON president Deborah Echtenkamp, MSN RN, CPON,® and a nurse at Medical City Children's Hospital in Dallas.