United Nurses of Alberta is warning its members to avoid using the social networking website Facebook when they are on the job after several nurses were disciplined by the Calgary Health Region.

The UNA has filed grievances over the disciplinary measures. But union spokeswoman Karen Craig warned members to stay off Facebook, and to avoid posting any pictures on the website that were taken at their workplace.

The union also asked the health region to block access to Facebook. But the head of information technology, Blaine Boake, said he wants to keep open access to the web because it's necessary for a medical organization.

"We've always had a philosophy of allowing people to go to the internet. A lot of people here do a lot of research, and typically when you're dealing with medical terms, those are the very sites you're gonna be blocking or you get your warning signs. That's the reason why we don't want to block sites," Boake said.

He said a new pilot project will use software that will warn users if they are about to visit inappropriate sites such as Facebook, gambling sites or pornography.

Users can then acknowledge their visit to the site is being monitored, but they can continue if it is necessary for work.

Boake said he realizes employees will use the web for personal reasons such as online banking. But he said that is OK because those are usually quick visits that can be done on breaks.