Nurses Teach Nursing in the Language of Tweets: A Qualitative Study

Objective: To examine the reactions of Twitter users to the announcement of non-nursing academic staff to teach vocational courses in a nursing department. Methods: The study was designed using retrospective and qualitative research methods. The research sample consisted of 596 tweets shared on Twitter with the hashtag #NursesTeachNursing. Data were collected between 25.01.2022 and 01.02.2022. Content analysis was conducted on the data collected over the MAXQDA application. Ethics Committee approval was obtained. Results: Six themes were identified in the study, namely the quality of nursing education and services, professional autonomy and image, justice and equality, and emotional reactions. Conclusion: In the study, it was concluded that Twitter users reacted to the announcement of academic staff for non-nursing professionals in the nursing education institution and defended their professional rights. Most Twitter users shared content focused on preserving the quality of nursing education. Twitter users emphasized that the quality of nursing services is related to the quality of nursing education. Twitter users stated that society has the right to receive qualified nursing services and students have the right to receive qualified nursing education. These data, which are related to the profession of nursing and nursing education and reflected to social media, were also guiding in terms of strengthening the profession, making it visible and finding solutions to the problems experienced.