Utilizing Social Media in Graduate Nursing Education: A Review of the Literature

Social media is used by a rapidly growing percentage of the population, with health professionals being no exception. With many platforms and applications being available for online social interaction, social media is a term that is inclusive of a number different virtual tools allowing for interactions among individuals (Lopez & Cleary, 2018). As a teaching strategy, social media can be helpful to nursing educators, and has been found to be useful in teaching nursing students regarding “communication, professionalism, healthcare policy and ethics” (Schmitt, Sims-Giddens & Booth, 2012).
With many current nursing students preferring learning environments and strategies that are enriched by technology, a thorough understanding of the implications of the use of social media in the instruction of nursing education is needed. Particularly the potential benefits and risks warrant continued evaluation. In the instruction of nursing students, social media interaction with faculty can be used as a training methodology for professional communication (Arrigoni et al, 2016). Social media can provide a way for nursing faculty to promote the use of technology professional engagement, a skill competency that is often lacking among nursing students (Schmitt-Giddens & Booth, 2012)
Despite a number of reviews being readily locatable on the current best practices regarding social media use in nursing education (Ross & Meyers, 2017), little is available regarding applicability to graduate nursing students. Therefore, the purpose of this work is to conduct an integrative review of the available evidence regarding the utilization of social media in teaching graduate nursing students. Further exploration of the available literature is needed in regard to graduate work specifically as professional communication is a key competency of many graduate nursing programs. Specifically, Doctor of Nursing Practice students are expected to be competent in the essential area of “Information Systems/Technology and Patient Care Technology for the Improvement and Transformation of Health Care” (AACN, 2006). A review of the current literature may focus on the need for future research, current best practices in utilizing social media in the graduate nursing curriculum or on potential risks or policy considerations in implementing the use of social media as a teaching strategy with this population.