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The growth of social media use has led to tension affecting the perception of professionalism of nurses in healthcare environments. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to explore first and final year undergraduate student use of social media to understand how it was utilised by them during their course. Descriptive statistical analysis was undertaken to compare differences between first and final year student use. No difference indicated there was a lack of development in the use of social media, particularly concerning in relation to expanding their professional networks. There is a need for the curriculum to include opportunities to teach student nurses methods to ensure the appropriate and safe use of social media. Overt teaching and modelling of desired behaviour to guide and support the use of social media to positively promote professional identity formation, which is essential for work-readiness at graduation, is necessary.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	undergraduate nurse, social media, curriculum design, professional identity
Research Division:	Medical and Health Sciences
Research Group:	Nursing
Research Field:	Nursing not elsewhere classified
Objective Division:	Health
Objective Group:	Health and Support Services
Objective Field:	Nursing
UTAS Author:	Mather, C (Dr Carey Mather)
UTAS Author:	Cummings, E (Associate Professor Liz Cummings)
UTAS Author:	Nichols, L (Mrs Linda Nichols)
ID Code:	109766
Year Published:	2016
Web of Science® Times Cited:	6
Deposited By:	Health Sciences
Deposited On:	2016-06-30
Last Modified:	2018-01-24
Downloads:	118 View Download Statistics