Topic > Impact of Media on Social Media - 1559

Health care is becoming increasingly interconnected with social media. The Internet has become the primary source for most patients. If one becomes ill or develops symptoms, they are able to search the Internet for those symptoms and get some sort of treatment. People search for everything on the Internet; nearby doctors, surgical procedures, medications and their effects, etc. People are able to share different healthcare information such as reviews of hospitals, doctors, emergency room facilities, share their experiences with illnesses and which treatment worked best. People can also use social media to ask for advice or search for information while on the go. This is an important part of social media because some people may not have enough time to go to the doctor's office. This impacts both consumers and healthcare overall. Social media impacts healthcare professionals by raising awareness about nursing and supporting nurses. “There are many negative images of nursing in the media, from highly sexualized portrayals of nurses to portrayals of healthcare systems in which nurses are invisible” (Jackson & Mitchell, 2015). The Ottawa Hospital has created live nursing tweets called "The Day in the Life" project that help represent the lives of nurses. Tweets include a real-life workday of nurses, chronicles of their critical thinking and how they solve problems, compassion, and nursing skills (Jackson & Mitchell,