Midwives and nurses have been given advice about how to conduct themselves on social networking websites.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) have published a guide to acceptable online behaviour after it emerged that they had received an "influx of enquiries" surrounding the subject.

The guide aims to shape a general policy regarding nurses' internet activities as well as provide guidance for employers who have to react to inappropriate online behaviour.

Speaking to People Management, the guide's author Andy Jaegar claimed that policies surrounding social media were a real grey area amongst those in nurse manager jobs.

He said: "Nurses and midwives have reported that employers are not dealing with issues occurring on social networks with the same degree of seriousness - particularly around bullying, harassment and inappropriate sharing of content.

"This guidance is about responsible use, and encouraging employers to investigate issues proportionately and seriously, rather than issue blanket bans."

Jaegar added that a lot of nurses and midwives were unaware just how much information can be shared on social media websites if privacy settings aren't altered.

The source which can be viewed on nmc-uk.org offers advice on subjects such as online privacy, sharing information and separating personal lives from professional lives.