Professional Experience Placement

This recently published paper by Duke et al (2017) describes a Canadian study to establish faculty and student use of social media and the professional implications in nurse education. A previously validated survey used with pharmacy students was modified for use with nursing faculty and students. The findings of student use were similar to those published earlier this year by Mather et al (2017) and blogged in June 2017. This study found students used social media more than faculty for formal and informal learning. Both cohorts used social media predominantly for personal use.  Students were twice as likely to use social media for study purposes than their academic tutors. Both groups indicated they understood the concept of e-professionalism the implications for privacy. This study also found that students used social media, it did not necessarily translate to to a deep understanding of the platforms. This gap between faculty and students continues to be an issue in an era where digital technology use is continuing to evolve and become more widely used for a range of purposes in everyday life.  The recent release of the Australian digital Health Agency Digital Health Strategy acknowledges there is a need for preparing the Australian health workforce to be digitally literate.  This study provides further information that there is a gap that needs attention, to enable the integration of digital technology into healthcare at a global scale.

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