Online Social Networks Help Travel Nurses Stay in Touch
By David Sindel, staff writer
The life of a travel nurse, while filled with adventure as one gains experience in hospitals across the U.S., can offer some unique challenges when it comes to communication. Each new assignment can bring new friends and acquaintances, but can also make it hard to keep connected with family and friends in locations once a new assignment is chosen.
Talking on the phone is one solution, but it can be time consuming (when there are many people to converse with) and expensive.
A new solution many nurses are embracing is social networking on the Internet. Whether for e-mail, chat, video journals or photo sharing, Web-based social networks offer something to suit everyone’s needs.
Keeping in Touch with Your Peers
One site that has become popular among nurses—especially travel nurses—is NurseConnect. Unlike many other networking sites, NurseConnect is a professional and social networking site designed specifically for those in the nursing industry. Visitors who join are immediately put you in touch with a wide array of nurses with whom they’ll likely have a great deal in common.
“In addition to meeting and connecting with others in your field, NurseConnect provides a host of other opportunities,” said Joanne Oelkers, online community manager for NurseConnect. “Members have access to thousands of nursing jobs, plus the latest news and feature articles, and they can gain the insight of colleagues regarding facilities and schools across the country.”
According to Oelkers, getting real information about hospitals and nursing programs from those who have experienced them is the site’s most popular feature. “It’s a great resource to find out what others are saying about your potential career choice,” she said.
NurseConnect members can also chat in real-time. This feature allows members to connect and communicate with others online and to see who is on the site at any time, day or night. “It is like having a conversation in the same room,” said Oelkers.
Many nurses are finding NurseConnect to be their favorite site for online interaction. An example is Kenneth, RN, a member who noted that "NurseConnect lets me network with others, learn, and share my knowledge."
Sharing Through Photos, Videos
Of course, there is more than one’s work to get them interested in an online network. After all, we are talking about social networks here.
An increasingly popular method of keeping in touch long distance is through photo- and video-sharing. Two of the premier sites for uploading photos and providing other people access to them are Flickr and Shutterfly.
These sites let you upload and organize your photos, while establishing private or public groups based upon common interests, locations, or a variety of other topics. Others can simply log onto the sites and view the photos (and captions or messages) you have placed there.
While a picture can be worth a thousand words, videos can claim to be the equivalent of thousands of pictures. With its easy-to-upload, easy-to-view video content, YouTube has rapidly become one of the Web’s most frequented sites. You can register for free and begin placing videos online, making it simple for others to go on their computers and be just a few simple clicks from viewing your latest news and adventures in a manner handwritten letters could never deliver.
For travel nurses, these sites are a perfect way to visually share your experiences with friends and family.
Blogs: An Online Journal
For verbal communication, there are an ever-growing number of “blog” (Web log) sites—essentially, a journal or memoir maintained and shared online.
One of the original sites is the aptly named Blogger which provides the option for private, single-author, or group (multiple people sharing thoughts in sort of a collective diary) blogs. Another popular site, LiveJournal, offers the option of additional privacy settings on your content.
Blogs are a great way for travel nurses to relate experiences on assignments or vacations, or simply to share personal thoughts and inspirations. And getting started is easy: simply choose a platform, set up an account, then write and upload your blog entry.
NurseConnect and NurseZone are two sites featuring popular nursing blogs. Check them out and join the conversation.
Post Your Profile, Meet Friends
Did you know there are also numerous “friendship” networks that have become omnipresent in today’s society? If these personal profile sharing sites interest you, consider MySpace and Facebook, the two largest such networks…though there are also many more.
No matter which social or professional networks you choose, you’ll find they offer a great solution to overcoming the difficulty of maintaining contact with friends and family while also providing an opportunity to establish relationships with new people.
