Margaret Grieve, 53, said she was a single mother to qualify for the cash but she was caught out when investigators checked her social media.
Dundee Sheriff Court heard she claimed to have split from her husband - but a picture of the couple together was her profile photo on Facebook.
Grieve, of Dundee, was jailed for nine months by Sheriff Tom Hughes.
The court was told that the NHS Tayside employee worked at Dundee's Ninewell's Hospital in its sterile services department.
Between 2008 and 2011, she claimed child tax and working tax credits to which she was not entitled after claiming she had separated from husband Frederick Grieve.
However, Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) investigators found she was still living with him, and splitting the cost of shopping and looking after the children.
They discovered a profile photograph of the pair attending a ball together in 2011 on her Facebook page.
And that year a friend wished Grieve a happy anniversary on the page - with Grieve replying to thank them.
Fiscal depute Eilidh Robertson told the court that the DWP also found that Mr Grieve's car insurance was paid from his wife's bank account.
She added: "Some household bills including the council tax on the accused's home were paid from that account.
"Both were jointly liable for council tax there and no single person's discount was applied.
"When he took out AA membership in October 2011 the address was given as the accused's.
"His home address with his employer, Dundee City Council, was also the accused's."
Defence solicitor David Sinclair said Grieve would lose her job if she received a custodial sentence.
"However, she is ready for what may be visited on her," he added.
A hospital worker has been jailed after she admitted fraudulently claiming £32,000 worth of benefits.