Future of Facebook in Nursing Education

A summary of the past six weeks of information will launch a look into the future use of Facebook (FB) in nursing education. First, FB, one of the hundreds of social networking (SN) Web 2.0 tools available, is free, easy to set up and use, has high security standards, good technical support and is accessible globally by phone. It is an excellent mode to reach traditionally under-served members of the population, as even in Kenya, a refurbished phone costs only $5.
Technology and globalization have permeated our health care system and are challenging our traditional ways of communication and education in health care. With this availability comes the new opportunity to share health information in new and broader measures. Statistics suggest at least 63% of adults check a SN profile site at least every few days. The opportunity to reach these folk with health education is only limited by our time and creativity. Two important things to remember in using technology for communication: a web tool does not fulfill all health communication needs and a web tool must not replace other ways of communication with patients, students or colleagues. SN and FB are just tools to enhance the communication process.
This said, SN and FB do have a place in nursing education. FB can be a media tool to incorporate care into the faculty-student relationship through being informed of birthdays, daily activities and interests of the students. Faculty can develop organization pages to share resources on specific courses with one another or to develop student group participation in directed topic discussions, use as an announcement page, or upload study helps. I have a personal interest in enabling persons to access up-to-date health information in the non-western world, specifically in the bush of Kenya. An organization page through my FB site would give credibility to the information, as I have built a relationship with the community there, and could be a resource of up-to-date culturally appropriate information on a specific disease. Also, an organization page could be a more personal support outreach resource to worldwide missionaries. As internet availability has expanded communication to the corners of the world, they could share information on diseases they are encountering in their areas, ideas on care, and not feel so isolated on a personal level in health care issues.
Specifically to the opportunities in nursing education, PRESENT is an excellent example of how nurses could come together to use the internet as a daily resource to strengthen our profession as a whole. Delisio (2009) reports on PRESENT, a podiatry site that is "at the forefront of the current movement that is bringing Facebook-style social networking features to online CME medical education. Beyond CME opportunities, they have online lectures, pre-tests and post-tests, podcasts, e-discussions, case studies. Specifically for their diabetic foot care, 18% of current site users are nurses. This innovative educational concept is an example of how SN can provide information broadly and be used to encourage health care teams to learn together. This is an inspiration to me to think creatively about how nursing education can embrace these tools to better care for those in our care. I hope it has challenged you as well.