Healthcare employees and anyone who has been a mature patient in recent years have been duly informed of the Health Insurance Privacy and Portability Act (HIPPA), but even more people They are more intimately familiar with the social networking site Facebook. Before researching the legal and ethical boundaries surrounding patient confidentiality in nursing school, many of us thought little about the HIPPA concept and how it applies to each of us as individuals. We can announce to the world on Facebook that I have a lump, please go get a mammogram! We can complain for a long time about our children's medical problems. We make announcements and invite prayers for our sick spouses and parents. We share with our friends and family, sometimes things we shouldn't share. It's not about Facebook; its essence is to respect the privacy of others and refuse to participate in activities that could disclose private medical information about anyone. Crossing that line, making clear your intent to join the healthcare industry, changes your responsibility to identify information about someone other than yourself, and that information dies with you or there can be harsh consequences. Some of the stories easily searchable on the Internet are seemingly innocuous, devoid of any intention – probably just a momentary lack of common sense or simple ignorance. A nursing student visits a nursing blog and asks the question: My patient died today during clinics. Any advice on how I handle this situation emotionally? Unless the student nurse's blog identification is known to other students or professors, and no one can trace the patient's identity and harm that person or their family in any way, this would be innocent advice, you see.. . half of the sheet ......t8). When Facebook goes to hospital, patients may suffer. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/2010/aug/08/local/la-me-facebook-20100809Larson, K., & Elliot, R. (2010). The emotional impact of negligence. Nephrology Nursing Journal, 37(2), 153-156. Painter, L. M., & Dudjak, L. A. (2010). Actions, behaviors and characteristics of RNs involved in compensable injuries. Journal of Nursing Administration, 40(12), 534-539. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/NNA.0b013e3181fc19ebPugh, D. (2009). The Phoenix trial: A substantive theory of professional conduct allegations. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 65(10), 2027-2037. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2009.05038.x Virginia Board of Nursing. (2012). Guide to using social media. In (Guidance Document 90-48). Retrieved from www.dhp.virginia.gov/nursing/guidelines/90-48_SocialMedia.doc