NRS 451 Topic 1: Reviewing Your Own Social Media Against Nursing Standards
This starts with logging in and looking. The three write-up sections each ask for something different, and the HIPAA argument is the one with real legal content behind it.
Editorial process
Last reviewed · August 18, 2026
An audit of your own accounts, written up in three parts
Do the audit before writing, because the assignment is built on findings rather than on opinions. Log into each platform you use and look at four things: posts and comments you have made, photographs you appear in or have shared, the groups and pages you belong to, and your privacy settings — including what a stranger sees. Then judge what you find against professional standards rather than against personal taste. The categories that matter are anything identifying a patient however obliquely, anything disparaging patients, colleagues or an employer, images involving alcohol or intoxication, discriminatory or degrading content, and material that would undermine confidence in your judgement. Report honestly, including finding little or nothing, and describe the specific items rather than the general impression. Do the looking before the writing, since the assignment is built on findings rather than on views. Report what you actually found, including finding very little, because an honest null result is still a finding.
The second section carries the most content and it turns on HIPAA. Personal conduct violates it more easily than students expect, because identifiability does not require a name: a post describing an unusual case, a date, a unit and an outcome can identify a patient to anyone who was there, and a photograph taken in a clinical area can capture a whiteboard, a wristband or a screen. Nurses have been dismissed and disciplined by boards for posts they believed were anonymous. Add the non-HIPAA half — conduct unbecoming, employer social media policies, and hiring managers reviewing public profiles — and give one example of each. The third section asks where your activity reflects respect for human value and dignity, and the strongest version names something specific you would change: a group you would leave, a privacy setting you would tighten, a rule you would adopt about photographs at work. Vague resolutions to be careful are the commonest weak ending.
Likely learning objectives
- Conduct a structured audit of personal social media accounts.
- Judge content against professional standards rather than personal taste.
- Explain how identifiability can occur without a patient's name.
- Commit to a specific, checkable change.
Assignment instructions
Read the full question
Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.
NRS 451 Topic 1 DQ 2 Compare two leadership theories. Provide an overview of each and discuss the strengths and weakness in relation to nursing practice. Social media plays a significant role in the lives of nurses in both their professional and personal lives. Additionally, social media is now considered a mainstream part of the process for recruiting and hiring candidates. Inappropriate or unethical conduct on social media can create legal problems for nurses as well as the field of nursing. Login to all social media sites in which you engage. Review your profile, pictures and posts. Based on the professional standards of nursing, identify items that would be considered unprofessional and potentially detrimental to your career and that negatively impact the reputation of the nursing field. In 500-750 words, summarize the findings of your review. Include the following: 1. Describe the posts or conversations in which you have engaged that might be considered inappropriate based on the professional standards of nursing. 2. Discuss why nurses have a responsibility to uphold a standard of conduct consistent with the standards governing the profession of nursing at work and in their personal lives. Include discussion of how personal conduct can violate HIPAA or be considered unethical or unprofessional. Provide an example of each to support your answer. 3. Based on the analysis of your social media, discuss what areas of your social media activity reflect Christian values as they relate to respecting human value and dignity for all individuals. Describe areas of your social media activity that could be improved. Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required. This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion. You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Refer to the LopesWrite Technical Support articles for assistance. NRS 451 Topic 1 DQ 2
Turn the brief into deliverables
- 01Findings from an actual review of your accounts.
- 02Specific content described, not a general impression.
- 03The argument for why the standard extends into personal life.
- 04One example of a HIPAA violation and one of unprofessional conduct.
- 05A named change you would make.
The review, the responsibility argument, then the values reflection
The audit
Review posts, images, group memberships and privacy settings.
What the assessor is likely looking for
Evidence the review actually happened.
What was found
Describe specific items judged against professional standards.
What the assessor is likely looking for
Specific content rather than a general assessment.
Why the standard follows you home
Argue that professional identity is not confined to shift hours.
What the assessor is likely looking for
An argument from public trust, not from employer policy alone.
HIPAA without a name
Show identifiability through detail, date, setting and image.
What the assessor is likely looking for
A concrete route to identification.
Dignity, and what you will change
Reflect on respect for human value and commit to one change.
What the assessor is likely looking for
A change a reader could check next month.
Where the social media standards for nurses are written
Recommended databases
- American Nurses Association
- NCBI Bookshelf
- PubMed Central
- National Council of State Boards of Nursing
Search sequence
- 1.Read the professional guidance on nurses' social media use before judging your content.
- 2.Look up documented disciplinary cases arising from social media posts.
- 3.Read the privacy rule's definition of identifiable information.
- 4.Do the audit before drafting a single sentence.
Reference shortlist
These are authoritative starting points, not a ready-made bibliography. A qualified reviewer must confirm that each source fits the assignment and supports the claim beside which it is cited.
Nursing Professional Development Evidence-Based Practice
StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf · 2023
Professional development and practice standards in nursing.
COLLABORATION WITHIN THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM
Nursing Management and Professional Concepts, NCBI Bookshelf · 2022
Professional conduct and collaboration in an open nursing text.
Ensuring Patient and Workforce Safety Culture in Healthcare
AHRQ Patient Safety Network (PSNet) · 2023
Safety and professional culture, for the trust argument.
Plagiarism Overview - Purdue OWL
Purdue University · 2024
Attribution standards, relevant to the integrity framing of the assignment.
Medical Malpractice
StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf · 2023
Medical malpractice, for the professional-standards context of conduct expectations.
Review before submission
Common mistakes
- Writing the assignment without conducting the review.
- Treating HIPAA as requiring a name to be breached.
- Discussing social media in general rather than your own accounts.
- Ending on a resolution to be more careful.
Submission checklist
- Did you actually look at all four categories in each account?
- Are specific items described?
- Have you given one HIPAA example and one conduct example?
- Is your improvement specific enough to verify?
- Are you within the 500-750 word range?
Use this guide to plan and review your own work. Follow your institution's rules and read Brinevia's academic-integrity policy.
Written by
Maren Caldwell
MSN, RN, CNE
Medical-surgical nursing, pharmacology and NCLEX preparation
Maren is a registered nurse with over 15 years of clinical and educational experience in medical-surgical nursing. She writes on NCLEX preparation, patient care fundamentals, pharmacology and evidence-based practice.
Reviewed by
Dr. Tessa Redmond
DNP, RN, CNE
Evidence-based practice and clinical education
Tessa is a doctorally-prepared nurse educator. She reviews Brinevia content for clinical accuracy and alignment with current evidence-based guidelines.