Leverage Social Media: 3 Ways to Improve Your Nursing Career

by | Mar 31, 2015 | 2 comments

A good rule of thumb for every nurse entrepreneur is the following:

If you put yourself ‘out there’ (in the public eye) you are bound to attract attention- both good and bad.

3 Ways to Leverage Social Media to Advance Your Nursing Career #nursingfromwithinThe same goes for any professional nurse- no matter what type of nursing career you find yourself in. As a nursing instructor, some students will enjoy your teaching style while others will butt heads with you the entire semester. As a clinical nurse, caring for patients, some family members will bless you with appreciation while others will ream you out as you’re attempting to leave for the day.

It’s the nature of the beast. As human beings we all have our unique perceptions, thoughts/feelings and personalities. While we clash with some, other people will be lifelong colleagues and even friends.

So what’s this got to do with social media and our nursing careers? 

I am active on social media. As a nurse entrepreneur, it is one of the channels that allows me to connect and communicate with clients outside of my local community. But guess what? Social media is not just for nurse entrepreneurs.

In today’s age of healthcare IT and digital information, social media is being used in all types of nursing careers. Well, if we’re nurse professionals who like to be leaders and stay up-to-date on the times.

Trust me. I went onto social media kicking and screaming. I didn’t want people to ‘know my business’. I was (and still am) a private person who prefers her alone-time. I’ve never enjoyed large groups of people and do think of myself as an introvert.

Social Media is Here to Stay

However, social media is the wave of the future. Patients can interact with prospective providers online. Families can get organizational updates and quick information. References, resources and all sorts of data is being shared online.

If you’re a nurse in this day-and-age, and you want to remain a nursing leader in your field, it’s time for you to step out of your comfort zone and join the ranks in the social scene.

[Tweet “Here are 3 Ways Social Media can Improve Your Nursing Career”]

  1. Grow Your Professional Network. Say you’re a nurse who enjoyed doing evidence-based practice projects (EBP). You’ve maxed out your online search for relevant research and articles, yet you still don’t feel like you Grow Your Professional Nursing Network with Social Media #nursingfromwithin have all of the answers to your problem question. Well, you can go onto a professional social media platform, like LinkedIn and use the search box to find nurse professionals with similar professional and research interests. Once connected with them (either person-to-person or via one of the LinkedIn professional groups), you can ask them for any resources, information or references they may have on your particular topic. LinkedIn is the best platform to grow your professional network online, yet there are others that are up-and-coming (see Next Wave Connect or KevinMD online).
  2. Provide Up-to-Date Information to Your Patient. There are lots of places patients and their families can get their healthcare information. For one (and this one isn’t recommended), patients can simply open up their browser and search in a search engine for a topic they are looking for help with. Since we all know this isn’t the most legitimate way to get healthcare information, why not be a resource for your patient? You can start up a blog, podcast or radio show on your particular specialty for patients in your local community. Then, since you are a nurse with a professional degree and real-life work experience, you can provide resourceful information to patients that is actually safe for them to consume. Patients are going to turn to social media and online networks to get their answers- why not show up as one of them? Nurse Gail’s site is one that I highly recommend for credible healthcare information.
  3. Balance Work and Have Some Fun. What does all work and no play make? A burned out nurse who’s exhausted, stressed out and disengaged with his/her profession. Social media is just that- it’s social. Now you don’t have to stay on there for hours a day, losing all track of time. Yet it can be a good way to unwind after a long day’s shift. You can find inspiring quotes, humorous blog articles and make friends with nurses who ‘get’ where you are coming from. I mean we all know that trying to tell our spouse a horror story of work at the dinner table gets glazed eyes and empty responses. Strike up a friendship on social media and you will find tons of like-minded support from nursing colleagues.

What did we miss? I’d love to hear a reason you hang out on social media (one that improves your nursing career, please). And if you enjoyed any of the topics above, you may want to check out the Nurse’s Week virtual conference, the Art of Nursing. Not only will we be talking about social media, building your professional networking online and other similar topics- we will have an online forum where you can receive support from other nurse professionals. Thanks for reading and leave a comment below!

2 Comments

  1. Marti

    The social media area that has helped me most in regards to my career is LinkedIn. I have been able to get side jobs and continue to grow my legal consulting work. People have seen my profile and also my comments in various threads which have been of great help. My original reason for being on LinkedIn was to be a part of discussions that interested me. It has been that and more!

    Reply
    • Elizabeth

      Wonderful, great to hear you are receiving the results you are looking for using LinkedIn. It certainly is a platform that can help you grow your professional network online. Thanks for the comment, Marti.

      Reply

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Build Your Professional Nursing Network Online - […] month I wrote about social media and how to leverage the power of the internet to improve your nursing…

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Q

Love the Content?

Join the mailing list for even more great information from Elizabeth Scala!

Name
Opt-in Notice(Required)
By submitting this form, you agree to receive email marketing from Elizabeth Scala regarding our products and services.
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.