References
Social media participatory CPD for nursing revalidation, professional development and beyond
Abstract
Background:
In 2016 the Nursing and Midwifery Council in the UK introduced revalidation, which is the process nurses are required to follow to renew their registration. This provides an opportunity for nurses to shape, develop and evolve social media to meet their professional requirements.
Aims:
to examine different ways nurses can use social media tools for continuous professional development (CPD) and revalidation.
Methods:
using a qualitative reflective design, data were gathered from content on the @WeNurses platform and activities organised with other leading health organisations in England. These data were analysed using the social media relationship triangle developed by the authors with a thematic analysis approach.
Findings:
analysis revealed that social media was used in six categories: publishing, sharing, messaging, discussing, collaborating, and networking. Organised social media events such as: blogs, tweetchats, Twitter storms, webinars, infographics, podcasts, videos and virtual book clubs can support nurses with revalidation and professional development.
Conclusion:
Through using a participatory CPD approach and embracing professional social media applications nurses have moved social media from the concept of a revolution to an evolution.
Social media has been described as a ‘revolution’ however, the professional use of social media by nurses is perhaps less revolutionary and more evolutionary. In a previous paper (Moorley and Chinn, 2014) we discussed using social media for continuous professional development (CPD) and since then the use of social media for CPD is becoming more acceptable. In 2016 the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) in the UK required that all nurses enter a process of revalidation in order to remain on the NMC register to practise. This provides an opportunity for nurses to start shaping and developing social media to meet their professional needs. In this article, we discuss and provide examples of how nurses can use social media to prepare for and contribute to revalidation and professional development, and how social media and nurses' use of social media are evolving to fit their needs.
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