Exploring the Sense of Virtual Community Among Members of the Registered Nurse in Intellectual Disability (RNID) Excellence Ireland Network Facebook Group

Abstract

BackgroundVirtual Communities of Practice offer opportunities to build professional support networks, encourage continuing professional development, share knowledge and promote the translation of evidence into nursing practice. The Registered Nurse in Intellectual Disability (RNID) Excellence Ireland Network is a private Facebook group aimed at promoting and maintaining the RNID's professionalism. This article explores the sense of virtual community and factors that impact the engagement of members of the RNID Excellence Ireland Network Facebook group with group activities.Materials and MethodsThe study design incorporated a cross‐sectional descriptive survey that explored the sense of virtual community and engagement factors of registered and student nurses with group activities. The questionnaire was administered to registered and student nurses in Intellectual Disability (n = 140, age range 18−65 years) in Ireland.ResultsThe majority of registered/student nurses rated their engagement with the Facebook page very highly for promoting a sense of virtual community of practice and a safe and trustworthy environment where information could be shared, questions answered and a support network developed. However, concerns about social media privacy impacted engagement with the platform for almost one‐third of participants.ConclusionSenior nurses engage with group activities, ensuring junior colleagues receive quality mentorship in the spirit of the Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics for Registered Nurses and Registered Midwives. Efforts should be continued to engage students with the virtual community of practice as part of the professional practice toolkit for the RNID.