Thanks so much for all of your responses as to whether we keep the group open or make it closed. I feel I should follow my heart on this one, and my heart says we need to be open, whilst recognising our professional responsibilities. The general consensus would seem to agree, although there were some valid points made for making it closed. I did not envisage a group where members would not feel comfortable making a comment for fear of repercussions, or how something might be interpreted by someone who didnt understand the subject matter. I think an article like the one I have shared this morning from the Daily Mail is far more damaging to womens perceptions of maternity services than a reasoned professional discussion such as they may happen across on this page. The open and honest opinions of those who have commented about their own experiences of being a midwife under pressure are really important for others to hear I think. I want to make the group a place for chat about maternity practice and other relevant topics, with an element of peer support but not to the extent of going into great personal detail. I will amend the group description to make it particularly clear it is a group for health professionals, not the public, and that you should always remember your employers guidelines on social media use when participating. Yes, it is an informal network, but you should always bear in mind how anything you say online could be read or shared, even within a closed group - you dont really know most of the other members any more so than you would know a member of the public. You are ultimately responsible for anything you post - so if in doubt, dont post it. Just the same rules as you would follow in a #WeMidwives chat on Twitter, for example. Anyone who doesnt feel comfortable participating in any discussion certainly does not have to, and if someone feels a need for a closed group, perhaps the demand is there to set one up, but for the moment at least, it will not be this one. I hope most of you are happy with this, and Im sorry if you arent, but this group is so new I think we have to give it a chance to blossom. And once we make it closed, it is very difficult to make it open again. That is not to say we wont have to review this at some point in the future. For now, thanks everyone :-)
Posted on: Thu, 27 Mar 2014 13:24:22 +0000
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