Sexual Predators Online: Where Do They Intersect With Adolescents and Young Adults?

Here are some of the results described in “Online Social Networking Patterns Among Adolescents, Young Adults, and Sexual Offenders,” an original research article published in the July issue of AJN:

nearly two-thirds of Internet offenders said they’d initiated the topic of sex in their first chat session; more than half . . . disguised their identity when online; most . . . preferred communicating with teenage girls rather than teenage boys; high school students’ experience with “sexting” . . . differed significantly according to their sex; a small number of students are being threatened and assaulted by people they meet online; avatar sites such as Second Life were used both by students and offenders . .  . .

What’s your own experience? Have a look at the article, and pass along the link if you find it useful, as a parent or nurse. Have you heard any concerns about Internet safety from parents or adolescents you encounter in your own practice or community? What’s your own take on Facebook and privacy, or any other issue raised in this article?—JM, senior editor

2016-11-21T13:12:30-05:00June 30th, 2011|healthcare social media, nursing research|0 Comments
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Nurses, Hospitals, and Social Media: It Depends What Business You’re In

Hospitals with social media policies are not necessarily squelching their employees' right to freedom of speech. They don't want to spend time and money in court defending their public image. They already spend lots of money on marketing. They are in the business of patient care, not entertainment. So hospitals with social media polices take the position that you can post or tweet to your heart's content, but should keep in mind the following:

2016-11-21T13:14:17-05:00January 19th, 2011|career, healthcare social media, Nursing, Patients|2 Comments
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Placenta Facebook Photos: Nurse and Mommy Tribes See Student Expulsion Differently

Will patients trust that when they are anesthetized they will be treated respectfully? Will hospitals and other clinical agencies be less inclined to host students for fear of litigation over privacy? I imagine at the very least, all nursing schools are now quickly developing social media policies. The American Medical Association has one and the American Nurses Association is, I’m told, developing one.

2016-11-21T13:14:21-05:00January 12th, 2011|career, Ethics, healthcare social media, nursing perspective, students|14 Comments
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The Slow Old Days

Christmas cards with angels, scandinavian “nis...

By Maureen “Shawn” Kennedy, interim editor-in-chief

On this past Monday at Slate, writer Kate Julian, lamenting that her mailbox was devoid of cards this season, asked, “Did Facebook Kill the Christmas Card?” She went on to detail all the ways people can connect online nowadays, making a case that the traditional “here’s what I’ve been doing all year” card is going the way of the little black address book and pocket calendar.

I’m not so sure we can put all the blame on Facebook. In my own case, I was (and still am) unprepared. I just know Christmas came earlier this year—I don’t know how they did it, but somehow the calendar seemed to do one of those Star Wars hyperspeed jump things, where lights whiz by and you’ve jumped light years ahead. I remember Halloween, and then there was Thanksgiving . . . but wasn’t that just last week?

Or maybe it only seems that way because with technology we can now work more efficiently and be more productive in less time. But where IS all this time I’m saving with technology?

This time of year makes me think of childhood Christmases, but not so much my own. My mother grew up in a small New England town during the 1930s; it was always cold and snowy. It was a mill town and no one had money […]

2016-11-21T13:14:34-05:00December 22nd, 2010|Nursing|2 Comments
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Why Didn’t Physicians Know What Nurses Know?

By Shawn Kennedy, AJN interim editor-in-chief

A recent post on our blog highlighted the experience of AJN’s associate editor Amy Collins in trying to get someone to diagnose the underlying reason for acute confusion in her grandmother. Over a two-week period, Amy’s grandmother was seen by various private and ED physicians, none of whom seemed to have an adequate diagnosis or a suggestion for treatment. Finally, nurses suggested that a urinary tract infection (UTI), fecal impaction, or some other infection might be a factor. It was a fecal impaction and yet none of the five physicians who previously evaluated Amy’s grandmother had thought about or assessed for it.

What the nurses said. Amy’s post generated many comments, both on the blog and on our Facebook page. What was interesting to me was how many nurses knew to first check for a UTI, electrolyte disturbance, or fecal impaction as a reason for confusion. Here are a few samples:

“Though not conclusive, in every case I have seen a change in cognition or behavior it was either a UTI or fecal impaction. I work in home health as a CNA and I am a nursing student.”

“The first thing I think to check is infection (UTI) with elderly, confused patients.”

“I’m a senior nursing student…and this material is on our exam that we are taking Friday. With acute confusion, always check for UTI and constipation.”

“Possible UTI. Possible dehydration &/or  constipation. Poor nutrition. All can (and do) manifest as “altered mental status.” Think I’d start with […]

2016-11-21T13:15:35-05:00September 27th, 2010|healthcare social media, nursing perspective|1 Comment
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Views expressed on the blog are solely those of the authors or persons quoted. They do not necessarily reflect AJN’s views or those of Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
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