It’s a Twitter account. They asked some questions for May which as I’ve finally had time to sit down for a cup of fair trade tea I thought I’d answer.
The first question, what impact has social media had on you as a Nurse.
Well it’s allowed me to connect with other Nurses, opened opportunities for growth overall a positive thing in many ways.
One of the outcomes of social media is why I find myself in the situation that I’m in so proceed with caution!
I joined twitter donkeys years ago when I was introduced by a friend who’s husband worked in IT. What a load of none sense I thought but then I found a community of Nurses and joined in the fun. Until one Friday my twitter took off over some thing and nothing about star wars, I can’t even remember what it was, just a joke or something anyway. Gradually it seemed to get more serious.
Provided opportunities to hear about and go to conferences, connect with people who were doing research into the areas that I was working in.
Then I followed a lead, the conference happened to be close to my friend so I signed up. I heard about homelessness. I can’t remember which way round it happened but a patient that was attending one of our groups had an episode of breathlessness which was exacerbated by their thoughts of powerlessness about their grandson who had no where to live.
This kind of set me on a path volunteering with people who were experiencing homelessness. In our groups I spent time with carers and heard how unsupported they were and the challenges of the health care system.
Cutting a very long story short this has lead me to activism. I’m now caught up in those gaps so I’m fighting for my cousin so that I can get my life back. (I’m not sure what that means just yet).
Twitter is a great way to connect to share both our Nursing knowledge and highlight what needs to be systemically different for citizens of humanity. Because governments around the world are failing people due to poor investment in Nurses and health care. We are also failing each other.
I’ve written about my experiences volunteering and the challenges I’ve faced both as a human and as a Nurse because like it or not we are both.