Social Media Standards

Social Media Initiative

Travel Nurse Across America (TNAA) has decided to participate in several popular social networking sites that TNAA feels are critical to reach new audiences and potential job applicants. Some TNAA staff may be interested in engaging in internet conversations for work-related purposes, or may be asked by supervisors or leadership to participate in support of TNAA’s organizational objectives. Such engagement on behalf of TNAA, including establishment of official external sites representing TNAA or any TNAA organization, must be approved and coordinated through TNAA Management. TNAA’s Social Media Team provides oversight and assistance to guide development of new social media platforms, sharing knowledge and instituting best practices for successful implementation. Therefore, any use of external Web sites for work-related purposes (e.g. photo sharing through Flickr.com) must be first approved by TNAA Social Media Team and recommendations for participation in new social sites, should also be directed there for consideration and inclusion.

Travel Nurse Across America Social Media Code of Ethics

As Travel Nurse Across America engages in conversations on the Internet, the following code of ethics applies, both in TNAA-sponsored sites and in comments on other sites.

• TNAA blog posts and comments will be accurate and factual.
• TNAA will acknowledge and correct mistakes promptly.
• When corrections are made, TNAA will preserve the original post, showing by strikethrough what corrections have been made, to maintain integrity.
• TNAA will delete spam and/or comments that are off-topic.
• TNAA will reply to emails and comments when appropriate.
• TNAA will link directly to online references and original source materials.
• TNAA staff will disclose conflicts of interest and will not attempt to conceal their identity or that they work for TNAA.

Travel Nurse Across America Employee Social Media Use Policy

This is the official Travel Nurse Across America (TNAA) company policy concerning the use of internet user-generated content (“social media”) by TNAA employees. If you are a TNAA employee creating or contributing to blogs, podcasts, wikis, social networks, online communities, virtual worlds, product review/comment websites, podcasts, or any other kind of social media, it is important that you understand and comply with this policy.

Whether or not a TNAA employee chooses to participate in social media is his or her own decision. TNAA recognizes that such participation is most likely to be for purely personal reasons. This policy should in no way be construed as permission or encouragement to speak about TNAA via any social medium. However, to the extent that participation in social media by a TNAA employee relates to or affects that employee’s job responsibilities, the responsibilities or performance of other TNAA employees, or TNAA’s business interests in general, such participation is subject to this policy.

This policy is intended to complement and not contradict any other official policy of TNAA. This policy will continually evolve as new technologies and social networking tools emerge. It is each employee’s responsibility to be up-to-date on the requirements of the most current version of the company’s social media policy.

1. Follow all applicable TNAA policies. For example, you must not share confidential or proprietary information about TNAA, its hospitals, or candidates and you must maintain the privacy of all individuals. This includes refraining from discussing or disclosing specific examples of patient interactions or experiences. Any reference should take the form of a generic example to protect overall hospital/patient privacy policies. Among the policies most pertinent to this discussion are those concerning healthcare and government affairs, mutual respect, political activity, Computer, E-mail & Internet Use, photography and video, release of patient information to media and patient confidentiality.
2. Only officially designated persons may speak for the company.
   1. Unless you have been officially designated and given authority by TNAA to speak on behalf of the company, you must make it clear that you are speaking for yourself and not for TNAA. This obligation applies to all employees, but is a special responsibility for recruiting specialists, managers and executives who, by virtue of their position, may lead others to assume that they are expressing TNAA’s official views.
   2. Do not cite or reference customers, partners, or suppliers without their prior approval. Never identify a customer, partner, or supplier by name without permission and never discuss confidential details of a customer, partner, or supplier agreement.
   3. When writing for your social accounts, please write in the first person. Be yourself and be honest. Identify yourself by name and that you work for TNAA if you discuss TNAA or TNAA-related matters. When relevant, identify your role at TNAA.
   4. If it is unclear whether the information you wish to discuss or reference is confidential, ask for permission or clarification from management prior to posting that information publicly.
3. You are personally responsible for the content that you publish.
   1. TNAA employees are personally responsible for the content they publish on any form of social media. Be mindful that what you publish will be public for a long time, so consider the content carefully and protect your interests and those of TNAA.
   2. The Web is not anonymous. Assume that everything you publish can be traced back to the company, if not you personally.
   3. If you publish content about TNAA or its products, technologies, or business, all statements must be true and not misleading and all claims must be substantiated and approved.
   4. If you make a mistake, admit it. Be upfront and quick with your correction and do not alter previous posts without indicating that you have done so.
   5. Keep confidential information and internal conversations within the company.
   6. Do not disclose TNAA’s confidential or other proprietary information. Adhere to the confidentiality agreement and policy as outlined in the TNAA employee handbook. Ask permission before publishing or reporting on conversations or information that may be private, proprietary, or confidential. Do not comment on TNAA’s financial information, future business plans, or prospects.
   7. Do not use social media to air complaints, communicate with other employees about internal work matters, or correct the behavior of others.
4. Respect the legal rights of others.
   1. Do not violate intellectual property rights (such as copyrights, fair use limitations, and trademarks). If you are referencing someone else’s content, link to the source material whenever possible.
   2. Do not violate other laws that may apply to content you publish, including antitrust, unfair trade practices, anti-discrimination, and financial disclosure laws.
5. Respect your audience.
   1. Do not use ethnic slurs, personal insults, obscenity, or engage in any conduct that would not be acceptable in TNAA’s workplace. What you publish must not contain or link to libelous, defamatory or harassing content, even by way of example or illustration. You should also show proper consideration for the privacy of others and concerning topics that may be considered objectionable or inflammatory, such as politics and religion.
   2. Talk to your readers, “friends”, followers, and connections as you would to real people in professional situations. Be polite and appropriate, even when disagreeing with others’ opinions. Embrace an open discussion, leaving room for the possibilities that others may hold views that differ from your own, and never pick or encourage fights.
   3. Do not use social media to criticize or embarrass TNAA, or its customers, partners, suppliers, or employees.
   4. Do not comment on the competition.
6. Always strive to add value.
   1. Only write about what you know. Provide worthwhile information and perspective.
   2. Protect TNAA’s reputation. TNAA’s reputation is best represented by its people and what you publish has the potential to reflect positively or negatively on the company. Make sure that your use of social media reflects positively on TNAA.
   3. Be clear, concise and spell-check your submissions.
   4. Be aware of and acknowledge the work of others. Find out who else is blogging or publishing on the topic you are discussing and cite or link to them.
   5. Do not comment on rumors.
   6. Do not let your choice to engage in social media activities interfere with your job responsibilities.
7. Remember that your personal use of social media may reflect on the company.
   1. Be mindful of your association with TNAA in your personal use of social media. If you identify yourself as a TNAA employee in any social media context, ensure that your profile and related content is consistent with how you wish to present yourself to colleagues, customers and others.
   2. Nothing contained in this document should be construed as permission, encouragement, or approval by TNAA to speak on the company’s behalf.
   3. If you communicate in the public internet about TNAA or TNAA-related matters, disclose your connection with TNAA and your role at TNAA. Use good judgment and strive for accuracy in your communications; errors and omissions reflect poorly on TNAA, and may result in liability for you or TNAA.
   4. On your personal social media accounts, use a personal email address (not your nurse.tv address) as your primary means of identification. Just as you would not use TNAA stationery for a letter to the editor with your personal views, do not use your TNAA e-mail address for personal views.
   5. If your blog, posting or other online activities are inconsistent with, or would negatively impact TNAA’s reputation or brand, you should not refer to TNAA, or identify your connection to TNAA.
8. Be respectful and professional to fellow employees, business partners, competitors and clients. Avoid using unprofessional online personas.
9. Ensure that your blogging and social networking activity does not interfere with your work commitments.