Privacy & Social Media

Social Media Policy

The School of Nursing supports the University and professional nursing organization guidelines related to the use of social media. Information posted on a social media site may potentially become disclosed to the public at any time, regardless of the privacy settings intended by the user. Consequently, students should not post content that is disrespectful of others, or any patient- or course-related information that is confidential, private, or proprietary.

All students in the School of Nursing academic programs are required to review the content in the links below for important information about the acceptable use of social media:

• UW-Madison’s Social Media Guide lists University guidelines for the use of different type of content on social media in various situations and covers the aspects of federal law regarding dissemination of confidential, private, or proprietary information under FERPA and HIPAA legislation.
• American Nurses Association’s Social Media Principles
• National Council of State Boards of Nursing’s A Nurse’s Guide to the Use of Social Media
• National Council of State Boards of Nursing video overview of inappropriate uses of social media

Public Release of Student Names

School of Nursing students may be publicly acknowledged throughout the program in places such as School of Nursing publications, media, and press releases to local papers. Reasons for acknowledgement may include being named to the Dean’s Honor List, receiving selected scholarships, being elected to serve on committees, participating in presentations, or receiving a School of Nursing awards.

If you anticipate being publicly acknowledges through the School of Nursing and you do NOT want your name publicized, inform the Academic Affairs Office, academic.affairs@nursing.wisc.edu, by the end of the second week of the semester.

For more information about student privacy rights, review the Office of the Registrar’s FERPA page.