I was delighted to be asked to speak to a group of midwifery students the other day at the University of Canberra about the professional use of social media. It was really fascinating to talk to them about their use of social media, and I must admit I got a couple of surprises.
It came as no surprise that most of them had a Facebook account. But what did surprise me was very few of them used other social media channels, and hardly any of them used social media for professional uses. I thought it would be because of their concerns about privacy etc, but this was not the case. Rather, it was because they felt they got all the support, access to resources and information, and networking that they needed through their university channels. They also said they did not have the time for social media, and they felt very strongly about keeping their personal lives separate from their professional lives.
My response to these concerns is that when students move into practice, they will not have the access to resources and information, or even networking, that they have as students. So it is very important that they work out ways of keeping informed, and staying connected to the profession at all levels; local, national and international, and I believe that social networking can help midwives do that.
Here is the presentation I gave the students - what additional comments or tips would you add?
http://www.slideshare.net/sarahs/legal-and-ethical-use-of-social-media
It came as no surprise that most of them had a Facebook account. But what did surprise me was very few of them used other social media channels, and hardly any of them used social media for professional uses. I thought it would be because of their concerns about privacy etc, but this was not the case. Rather, it was because they felt they got all the support, access to resources and information, and networking that they needed through their university channels. They also said they did not have the time for social media, and they felt very strongly about keeping their personal lives separate from their professional lives.
My response to these concerns is that when students move into practice, they will not have the access to resources and information, or even networking, that they have as students. So it is very important that they work out ways of keeping informed, and staying connected to the profession at all levels; local, national and international, and I believe that social networking can help midwives do that.
Here is the presentation I gave the students - what additional comments or tips would you add?
http://www.slideshare.net/sarahs/legal-and-ethical-use-of-social-media
2 comments:
The internet allows us an almost infinite toolbox to interact with our friends and colleagues. Sites like Twitter enable users to build a massive network of people we’ve never met but share common ideas and interests with.
What a brilliant presentation! You captured the positives and negatives so well, with great advice for professional use of social media.
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