When students start a course in nursing many believe that they should fear the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). It’s thought that at the slightest hint of indiscretion, the NMC could send out their agents to bundle you into the back of a car and begin their McCarthy-style hearings – “are you now, or have you ever been a member of a social networking site?”
- Originally published 16th April, 2012
I am pleased to say that as I progress through my nursing course, my view of the NMC has changed. The rules surrounding nurses, as laid down by the NMC, are fairly simple to understand and it is quite obvious when you have made an indiscretion. The results and implications of those indiscretions are justified and measured. However, it seems that the real institution that you should be wary of is your university.
For better or for worse I have put myself firmly into the public arena. Many people know who I am, know my writings and know which university I come from so I have given up my anonymity to openly document my experiences. To this end, I have been lucky in that my university has been extremely supportive of the public work I engage in and I hope to repay that support by maintaining a public presence that is professional but still of benefit to my readers. This is not always the case for others. One student spoke to me about their university’s hesitance to allow students to use social networking sites or contribute to publications. There is a fear that our professional nursing ethic won’t extend to how we conduct ourselves in the public space.
Maybe they’re right to be wary, but to ban us from taking part? Isn’t that a bit extreme? The NMC’s remit is fairly simple; they are there to ensure the safety of the public and uphold the standards of the profession. Universities have an ever-changing role to play in society. They are there to educate students to a set standard but they also have to run a business. While one university, like mine, may fully embrace its students’ drive to express themselves others don’t agree that engaging in debate online is a good thing. Thankfully the majority of universities are very supportive but before you decide to stick your head above the parapet, check with your university because avoiding problems is a lot easier than trying to solve problems.
Do you enjoy engaging in online debate? How does your university feel about it?
Follow up thoughts
So as you can imagine, my feelings on this have changed somewhat.
I always thought that universities would be that battleground, that boiling pot of divisive and challenging debate and opinions, which is how I always imagined university to be before I attended. You know, this was the place where you would have your assumptions and preconceptions challenged by having people come along to speak to you who had completely polar opposite views to you and would make you reassess whether what you believed was right. Increasingly that seems to be a more difficult experience for students to find. Be under no illusions that universities are businesses, and they have to operate in that sphere. When I originally wrote this article, I knew it was going to be a problem that would only get worse seeing as we are in an even more connected society, and it’s only gonna get more connected in the future. In the years since, I’ve witnessed nurses losing their jobs because of some of the interactions that they’ve had on social media. I also know that employers make routine checks of social media as part of their standard vetting procedure. However, these aren’t reasons that I’ve personally decided to kind of move away from being fully active on social media.
I mean, of course, I go there from time to time, and I post my articles there because, frankly, that’s where the people are. I’ve moved away from social media primarily for my own health. I do feel able to be open and talk about some of the mental health troubles that I’ve had, and I was finding that my anxiety and chronic low mood was being fed by the streams of misery I seemed to be subscribed to. This is probably because I was part of so many campaigning organisations and while these posts, shocking as they may be, are obviously helpful for mobilising a large number of people, for me it was frustrating and anxiety inducing because I saw so much that I felt I was unable to help with or to change or to improve. Since the time that I wrote the article I now have children who are having to grow up in this world and I have to consider the impact it can have on their upbringing. How does being always contactable and always connected did impact their relationships and the difficulties that might bring. I don’t want to sound like a luddite or somebody who is anti social media. It has done some truly positive and transformational things, but I guess it’s like everything. You need to be able to find that healthy moderation and and if you’re working in the professional field then for better or for worse there is that extra consideration to what you are saying, agreeing with or sharing online, my go to thought is that you should never post anything that you wouldn’t want read out at a tribunal.
On that slightly bleak note, I wanted to say, please do share this article on your social network. Get on the newsletter where you can be notified on the occasion that I post something and let me know what you think. I look forward to speaking to you, as always, really soon.
